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A senior booking producer for Fox News, Abby Grossberg, has alleged in a federal lawsuit filed in New York that she worked in a “misogynistic environment” at the network and that she received worse legal representation than male employees as she prepared for deposition testimony in the defamation case filed by Dominion Voting Systems. Grossberg also filed a separate suit in Delaware superior court on Monday alleging that the network and its lawyers conspired to defame her and fraudulently induced her to make statements against her interests. The federal suit alleges that Fox News retaliated against her after she complained about harassment based on gender and her Jewish religion.
The lawsuit claims that Grossberg received “damaging and woefully inferior and inadequate legal representation” in connection with deposition testimony. The Fox News legal team allegedly “coerced, intimidated and misinformed Ms. Grossberg,” which resulted in “irretrievable reputational and emotional harm” to her. The legal team allegedly wanted to shift the focus of their claims about rigged Dominion voting machines away from the company and onto Grossberg and Fox host Maria Bartiromo.
Grossberg was allegedly conditioned to answer hypothetical questions equitably and avoid problematic questions during her deposition. She was also allegedly instructed to respond to questions with “I do not recall” whenever possible. Grossberg alleges that her responses during the deposition were not what she wanted to give but that she had been coerced into giving them. The question put to Grossberg was, “If someone says something untrue on one of your shows, do you think it’s important to correct it?” Grossberg’s answer was “no.” Grossberg was left with the impression that she had to give answers that would please Fox News.
Grossberg also alleges gender discrimination, religious discrimination, retaliation, disability discrimination, and unequal pay. The causes of action are based on state laws except for one of the equal pay claims. She plans to add federal discrimination and disability claims after receiving a right-to-sue notice from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
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Fox News responded to the allegations in a statement to Law360, saying it had engaged independent outside counsel to investigate Grossberg’s claims. The spokesperson said that Fox News would “vigorously defend these claims.” Fox News also responded with a lawsuit seeking to prevent Grossberg from revealing attorney-client privileged communications. The lawyers allegedly “clearly informed” Grossberg that they represented Fox News and not her in her capacity.
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Winston & Strawn, the law firm that provided legal representation to Grossberg in connection with the defamation case filed by Dominion Voting Systems, did not respond to emails seeking comment.
In conclusion, the lawsuit filed by Abby Grossberg against Fox News and its legal team highlights a culture of misogyny, discrimination, and inadequate legal representation at the network. Grossberg alleges that she was coerced, intimidated, and misinformed during her deposition testimony in the Dominion Voting Systems defamation case, resulting in irretrievable reputational and emotional harm. She also claims that the network retaliated against her after she complained about harassment based on gender and her Jewish religion and that male employees received better treatment and representation. Fox News denies the allegations and has filed suit to prevent Grossberg from revealing attorney-client privileged communications. The outcome of these legal battles will likely have significant implications for the network’s reputation and its treatment of employees going forward.
