Fox News anchor Ed Henry is accused of 'handcuffing and raping' an employee in a NYC hotel room in bombshell lawsuit - which also accuses Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity of sexual harassment
Former Fox News anchor Ed Henry has been accused of 'violently raping' one woman and sexually harassing another in a bombshell new lawsuit.
The federal suit was filed on Monday in the US District Court for Southern New York by Jennifer Eckhart, a former associate producer at Fox Business, and Cathy Areu, a frequent guest on the network.
Eckhart claims that Henry - who was fired from the network on July 1 after an unnamed employee accused him of sexual misconduct - handcuffed her and raped her in a hotel room in 2017 after trying to coerce her into a sexual relationship.
Areu also claims she was sexually harassed by Henry, 49, and several other men at the network - including star anchors Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson and journalists Howard Kurtz and Gianno Caldwell.
The suit describes how Hannity allegedly offered staff $100 to take Areu on a date while she served as a regular face on his primetime show in 2018.
The lawsuit names Fox News, Henry, Hannity, Carlson and Kurtz as defendants.
Fox News, on behalf of their staff, and Henry have emphatically denied the allegations.
Former Fox News anchor Ed Henry (pictured with his wife Shirley) has been accused of 'violently raping' one woman and sexually harassing another in a bombshell new lawsuit
The federal suit was filed on Monday in the US District Court for Southern New York by Jennifer Eckhart (left), a former associate producer at Fox Business, and Cathy Areu (right), a frequent guest on the network
Areu claims she was sexually harassed by Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity as well as by Henry
The lawsuit includes photos of texts Henry allegedly sent to Eckhart: 'Mr. Henry not only leveraged this imbalance of power for control over his victim, Ms. Eckhart, but asked her to be his "sex slave" and his "little w***e," and threatened punishment and retaliation if Ms. Eckhart did not comply with his sexual demands'
Monday's complaint states: 'It is widely documented in the public record that Fox News has not only cultivated and fostered sexual harassment and misconduct, but has consistently accepted and rewarded it.
'Nevertheless, Fox News would have the public believe that it is a different place from the Fox News that was run by former disgraced Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes.'
A spokesperson for the network issued a statement about the lawsuit to DailyMail.com which denies the plaintiffs' claims and vows to fight them 'vigorously'.
'Based on the findings of a comprehensive independent investigation conducted by an outside law firm, including interviews with numerous eyewitnesses, we have determined that all of Cathy Areu's claims against FOX News, including its management as well as its hosts Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity & Howard Kurtz and its contributor Gianno Caldwell, are false, patently frivolous and utterly devoid of any merit,' the spokesperson said.
'We take all claims of harassment, misconduct and retaliation seriously, promptly investigating them and taking immediate action as needed — in this case, the appropriate action based on our investigation is to defend vigorously against these baseless allegations.
'Ms. Areu and Jennifer Eckhart can pursue their claims against Ed Henry directly with him, as FOX News already took swift action as soon as it learned of Ms. Eckhart's claims on June 25 and Mr. Henry is no longer employed by the network.'
Henry's lawyer, Catherine Foti, also denied the allegations laid bare in the lawsuit.
'The Me Too movement has helped to bring to light a number of injustices in our society, and everyone that has suffered deserves to be heard. This is not one of those cases,' Foti said.
'The evidence in this case will demonstrate that Ms. Eckhart initiated and completely encouraged a consensual relationship. Ed Henry looks forward to presenting actual facts and evidence, which will contradict the fictional accounts contained in the complaint. That evidence includes graphic photos and other aggressively suggestive communications that Ms. Eckhart sent to Mr. Henry.'
Henry has been married to his wife Shirley since 2010 and he has two children from a previous marriage.
'Mr. Hannity, on set and in front of the entire studio crew – and completely unsolicited – threw $100 on the set desk,' the lawsuit states. 'He then began calling out to the men in the room and demanding that someone take Ms. Areu out on a date for drinks at Del Friscos.' The alleged bill is pictured left and in a zoomed in picture on the right
Eckhart alluded to the suit in an Instagram post on Monday, writing: 'Stepping out of the darkness and into my truth'
The lawsuit begins by describing how Henry 'preyed upon, manipulated and groomed Ms Eckhart starting at the young age of 24 by exerting his abuse of power over her and her career'.
It claims he first began flirting with her in 2014 after she had graduated and that although she was 'not romantically interested' in him, she joined him for a drink after he persisted in his advances.
She claims Henry invited her to his New York Marriott Marquis hotel room, 'ripped off her clothes' and she had sex with him 'fearing that her career would be over if she refused.'
Eckhart claims that Henry forced her to perform oral sex on him in a guest office in the New York City offices in September 2015.
'When she would not comply voluntarily, he sexually assaulted her on office property, and raped her at a hotel where Fox News frequently lodged its visiting employees, thereby facilitating, whether knowingly or unknowingly, Mr. Henry's conduct,' the lawsuit states.
Henry took a four month leave of absence in 2016 after his extra-marital affair with a Vegas cocktail waitress was revealed.
The lawsuit states that upon his return Henry sent inappropriate messages to Eckhart and expressed an interest in bondage.
'In the Fall of 2016, Mr. Henry sent Ms. Eckhart a link to a song entitled “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy.” Ms. Eckhart, confused, asked Mr. Henry if he was trying to tell her something. He responded, “That I want you to ride ME?” “Yesss” “I am telling you that!' the suit states.
'Mr. Henry not only leveraged this imbalance of power for control over his victim, Ms. Eckhart, but asked her to be his "sex slave" and his "little w***e," and threatened punishment and retaliation if Ms. Eckhart did not comply with his sexual demands,' it is claimed alongside screen grabs of Whatsapp messages.
Examples included messages from Valentine's Day 2017: 'F**k you and your safe word,' followed by 'You will know when I'm done.'
Another screen grab showed three messages all with the same 2.39pm time stamp: "#obey," 'Or' and '#discipline.'
A set of late afternoon messages show 'owned & submissive' sent at 4.10pm and 'more anal --' at 4.11pm.
In reply to a series of messages that read: 'Whatever when u r owned u dont get a "choice"' the person whose phone the screen grabs were taken from replies 'you don't own me.'
The lawsuit claims that in 2017, they had drinks together and Henry invited Eckhart to 'to take a walk and discuss her career at his hotel.' The documents state that Eckhart agreed 'out of concern for her job.'
During that encounter, Henry is accused of applying metal handcuffs to her wrists, throwing her on the bed and taking photographs of her nude, against her will. She claims the photographs were to be used for blackmail.
The legal document claims that Eckhart 'pleaded for him to stop' and deleted the images but he 'proceeded to forcefully rape Ms. Eckhart while she was still restrained and helpless in handcuffs.'
'While raping Ms. Eckhart, Mr. Henry performed sadistic acts on Ms. Eckhart, which included, among many other things, violently hitting her in the face multiple times,' the lawsuit states.
She claims that despite telling him he left 'a mark on her buttocks', 'bruise on her leg,' among other injuries to her, he continued to send the messages.
It shows other messages claimed to have been sent by him which state: 'Will let you know if/when avail so you can get slapped around some more.'
An additional screen shot reads: 'Bite your tongue. You know who your daddy is. Good long session last time. Left you bruised dazed batter sated begging for more #perfect.'
Eckhart claims that Henry forced her to perform oral sex on him in a guest office in the New York City offices in September 2015. Advertisements featuring Fox News personalities, including Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity, adorn the front of the News Corporation building, March 13, 2019 in New York City
The lawsuit claims Henry 'preyed upon, manipulated and groomed Ms Eckhart starting at the young age of 24 by exerting his abuse of power over her and her career'. Eckhart is pictured above with baseball star A Rod in a photo from her Instagram page
The Monday filing states that Eckhart 'made every possible effort to cease all communications' with Henry after the alleged incident but it claims he 'continued to harass and retaliate against her for rejecting his continued advances.'
Eckhart claims that when she told the HR department that she was 'experiencing a toxic work environment' in February this year, she never heard back from them. The lawsuit alleges that the company retaliated by 'informing her that her employment would be terminated' in June.
Fox claimed in its statement on Monday that it learned of the claims on June 25.
The Monday lawsuit further alleges that Eckhart's lawyers described Henry's alleged assaults 'in graphic and specific detail' to Fox News and provided text messages in which he threatened further abuse.
Henry was fired by Fox News earlier this month based on findings of an internal investigation, both the lawsuit and the network said.
But the lawsuit contends that the network had been aware of Henry's alleged sexual misconduct at least since early 2017, when multiple other women came forward with complaints about him.
Instead of disciplining Henry after those complaints, Fox News promoted him to a higher position, the lawsuit says.
Eckhart alluded to the suit in an Instagram post on Monday that showed her face half obscured by a shadow.
'Stepping out of the darkness and into my truth,' she wrote. 'I stand for all victims who have been mistreated, harassed, assaulted, and even worse, at the hands of those in power, and the institutions that continue to support them.
'My decision to speak out was not an easy one, but I refuse to let fear of retaliation, victim shaming and further attacks intimidate me into remaining silent. I am hopeful that my decision to file this action will result in positive change for women at Fox, and for all victims in the workplace.'
Areu is seen on Tucker Carlson's show in 2018. She accused the anchor of propositioning her for sex on the set of his show in 2018
The suit alleges how Howard Kurtz (left) , host of Media Buzz, cut appearances on his show after she declined to go to his hotel room. The suit alleges how Gianno Caldwell (right), a Fox News political analyst, offered to introduce her to fellow media personality Ann Coulter if she agreed to go on a date with him
The second portion of the suit outlines allegations brought by Areu, who said Henry sent her 'a slew of wildly inappropriate messages throughout the first half of this year'.
One of the messages featured a video of a mock job interview where the woman 'exposes her vagina' and the interviewer 'indicates that she got the job.'
Areu claims that in the messages Henry made it clear that he 'was telling her, in no uncertain terms, that he would assist her career if she had sex with him', the suit states.
The Monday filing claims that in a May 21 phone call Henry called her a 'jerk' and cut off contact after she rejected his advances.
'Mr. Henry was far from the only Fox News anchor who subjected Ms. Areu to sexual harassment,' it adds.
'She was also subjected to inappropriate sexual harassment and retaliation by Mr. Hannity, Mr. Carlson, Mr. Kurtz and Gianno Caldwell.'
The suit describes how Areu 'was a relatively regular face on The Sean Hannity Show until March 8, 2018' - the day Hannity allegedly harassed her in the studio.
'Mr. Hannity, on set and in front of the entire studio crew – and completely unsolicited – threw $100 on the set desk,' it states.
'He then began calling out to the men in the room and demanding that someone take Ms. Areu out on a date for drinks at Del Friscos.
Cathy Areu is pictured with a friend on April 25, 2017 in New York City
'He repeatedly yelled: "Who wants to take her on a date?" "Take her on a date to Del Friscos."
'Ms. Areu was completely mortified and made clear that she was incredibly uncomfortable with Mr. Hannity's misogynistic behavior by quietly pleading with one of her friends in the room to accept the money so that the humiliation would end.'
Images in the lawsuit purportedly show that $100 bill.
Areu alleges that in December 2018, Tucker Carlson 'hardly making any effort to hide his intentions' propositioned her on the set of his show by telling her that he was staying alone in a hotel room.
'Without question, Mr. Carlson was probing to see whether Ms. Areu was interested in a sexual relationship,' the suit states.
'Ms. Areu awkwardly sidestepped Mr. Carlson's advances and declined to spend the night at his hotel.
'Mr. Carlson promptly retaliated against Ms. Areu, who was featured on his show only three times in 2019 and has not appeared once in 2020.'
The suit goes on to allege how Howard Kurtz, host of Media Buzz, invited Areu to have drinks in the lobby bar of a hotel he was staying at in July 2019.
But when she declined to go to his hotel room and instead offered to have Kurtz join her and a friend at dinner, Kurtz declined, and the following day he allegedly told her: 'You're the only woman here who won't come to my hotel room.'
She'd appeared on his show numerous times since 2017 but after that incident Areu was only invited to appear on Kurtz' show approximately three times, despite having been a 'relative regular' beforehand.
The final allegation in Areu's section of the suit alleges that Gianno Caldwell, a Fox News political analyst, offered to introduce her to fellow media personality Ann Coulter if she agreed to go on a date with him.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for emotional distress, loss of income and reputational harm, as well as punitive damages.
It also seeks a declaratory judgment that the defendants violated local and federal laws.
Former Fox News personality Gretchen Carlson, who filed a sexual harassment lawsuit claiming that she was fired for refusing advances from network founder Roger Ailes in July 2016, tweeted her support for Eckhart and Areu on Monday.
'I stand w/ @JenniferEckhart and #CathyAreu 2 immensely brave women who now have their voices heard. I know how hard it is to come forward w/ allegations. We won’t cower in a corner anymore. We are standing up, we are fierce & being heard.'
Former Fox News personality Gretchen Carlson, who filed a sexual harassment lawsuit claiming that she was fired for refusing advances from network founder Roger Ailes in July 2016, tweeted her support for Eckhart and Areu on Monday
