A month after Huffington Post reported that Fox News host Eric Bolling had sent lewd text messages to female colleagues, the network announced it has decided to “part ways” with the beleaguered Trump supporter.
“Eric Bolling and Fox have agreed to part ways amicably,” the network said. “We thank Eric for his ten years of service to our loyal viewers and wish him the best of luck.”
The program that Bolling co-hosted, The Specialists, will be cancelled.
According to the 14 sources who spoke with Huffington Post, at least three current and former female Fox News employees received unsolicited lewd texts from Bolling; some of the texts included photos of male genitalia. Fox suspended Bolling last month after Huffington Post’s report, pending an investigation. Bolling denied the allegations, saying through a lawyer that “the anonymous, uncorroborated claims are untrue and terribly unfair.”
I will continue to fight against these false smear attacks! THANK YOU FOR CONTINUED SUPPORT
— Eric Bolling (@ericbolling) August 9, 2017
He then proceeded to sue the reporter, Yashar Ali, for $50 million.
Ali tweeted on Friday night that he did not know what this meant for the lawsuit, but noted that if it does go forward, he looks forward to depositions and discovery. Ali also stressed that the victims of Bolling’s sexual harassment were relieved, but still anxious and concerned about the repercussions of telling their stories, even though their anonymity has been protected so far.
4. Other woman I spoke to today is worried about the impact this will have on her career (she's no longer at FNC), she loves what she does
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) September 9, 2017
Bolling is one of several Fox employees to be fired amid sexual harassment allegations since the start of 2016.
Gretchen Carlson sued then-CEO Roger Ailes for sexual harassment last year, and Ailes parted ways with the company last July as other women came forward with similar allegations. In April, the company provided an ample buyout to host Bill O’Reilly after a New York Times investigation revealed the network had paid out $13 million to five different women to keep their sexual harassment allegations against O’Reilly quiet. Fox Sports president Jamie Horowitz was fired in July amid a sexual harassment investigation, while Fox Business host Charles Payne returned to the network on Friday night, following the conclusion of an investigation into allegations that he had sexually harassed colleagues.
Trump, a vociferous consumer of Fox News, has showed support for Bolling in the past, even going so far as to promote Bolling’s book on his twitter account earlier this summer.