Fox News and one of its producers filed lawsuits against each other on Monday, adding a new wrinkle as the network faces a legal battle with Dominion Voting Systems over defamation.
Abby Grossberg, who has worked with Fox hosts Tucker Carlson and Maria Bartiromo, says in her filings in New York and Delaware that before giving a September deposition in Dominion’s $1.6 billion suit over false 2020 election claims, she was coached in “a coercive and intimidating manner” to protect executives and on-air talent.
Grossberg also alleges that at Fox she was forced to work in an environment rampant with sexism and misogyny.
“That’s what the culture is there,” she said in an interview with The New York Times. “They don’t respect or value women.”
Fox, meanwhile, filed a complaint in the Supreme Court of New York seeking to block Grossberg’s claims.
“Ms. Grossberg has threatened to disclose Fox’s attorney-client privileged information and we filed a temporary restraining order to protect our rights,” the network said in a statement to The Hill.
Parisis G. Filippatos, an attorney for Grossberg, told the Times that later on Monday, his client had been placed on forced administrative leave.
“Having just received and read Fox News’ frivolous attempt to silence Abby Grossberg, we are happy that the full story regarding her case will now be heard by three separate courts in each of which we are confident she will receive the justice she deserves and certainly the fair treatment which she hasn’t experienced thus far from her employer Fox News,” Filippatos said in a statement to The Daily Beast.
A spokesperson for Fox said it had hired lawyers to investigate Grossberg’s claims, which it labeled false.
“FOX News Media engaged an independent outside counsel to immediately investigate the concerns raised by Ms. Grossberg, which were made following a critical performance review,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “Her allegations in connection with the Dominion case are baseless and we will vigorously defend Fox against all of her claims.”
Dominion in 2021 filed suits against a number of individuals and corporations it says knowingly spread baseless accusations about its voting machines and the 2020 election in the wake of former President Trump’s loss.
In recent weeks, the company has made multiple court filings presenting evidence that Fox News hosts and top executives were privately casting doubt on the same false claims they gave abundant airtime.
Fox has countered with free-speech arguments, saying it was giving voice to concerns voiced by, among others, a then-sitting president.
The Times reports that Grossberg says in her filings that she was “coached by and intimidated by” Fox’s legal team ahead of her deposition.
Asked during that deposition if she cared whether statements about the election made on Bartiromo’s program were true or false, Grossberg reportedly replied, “No, because we didn’t know if they were true or false at that time.”
She responded “no” when asked if it was important to correct a false claim made on the air, according to the Times.
One of Dominion’s filings reportedly included an exchange between Bartiromo and her producer in which the host asked if she should have pushed Trump harder during an interview to commit to a peaceful transition.
“To be honest, our audience doesn’t want to hear about a peaceful transition,” Grossberg responded.
—Olafimihan Oshin contributed.
This story was updated at 9:13 a.m. Tuesday.