Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson said she has no regrets about filing her landmark sexual harassment lawsuit against Roger Ailes in 2016, despite not knowing how her career and life would change. “I have absolutely no regrets,” Carlson said in a recent interview. “I had no idea what was going to happen to me when I actually filed it 10 years ago. I thought I might be crying my eyes out for the rest of my life.” Instead, she said, “Immediately I found purpose.”
From Lawsuit to Advocacy
Carlson, a Stanford graduate and former Miss America, spent 11 years at Fox News before her suit alleged that Ailes fired her for rejecting his sexual advances. The lawsuit prompted numerous women to come forward, leading to Ailes’ departure and a reported $20 million settlement paid by Fox News. In 2019, Carlson co-founded Lift Our Voices with Julie Roginsky, who also sued Ailes. The organization’s mission is to “eradicate silencing mechanisms in the workplace,” including nondisclosure agreements and forced arbitration.
Legislative Victories
Lift Our Voices successfully pushed for the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022. The law gives survivors the right to sue in court instead of being forced into secretive private arbitration, and it applies retroactively. The bipartisan Speak Out Act, also signed in 2022, bars predispute nondisclosure and non-disparagement agreements for survivors and witnesses of sexual assault and harassment, covering past, present, and future contracts if the claim was filed after December 7, 2022.
Impact on Survivors
Carlson emphasized the importance of understanding the mental health impact of silencing mechanisms. “We, as Americans, have no idea what the mental health impact has been on people facing these kinds of experiences in their life, and on top of that, being silenced about it,” she said. “We know it can’t be good.” She noted that while she remains under a stringent NDA and cannot discuss details of her case, “the work that I do every day is helping millions of people. It gives me great happiness to know that all of these other people have the possibility of getting justice.”
Allegations in the Lawsuit
Court filings detail Carlson’s allegations that Ailes sabotaged her career after she rebuffed his advances. He allegedly reduced her high-profile assignments, removed her routine segment on Bill O’Reilly’s show, and snubbed her for promotions. She claimed Ailes engaged in “ostracizing, marginalizing and shunning” before firing her on June 23, 2016. During a meeting nine months before her firing, Ailes reportedly said, “I think you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago and then you’d be good and better and I’d be good and better.” Carlson also alleged that co-host Steve Doocy fostered a hostile work environment, treating her as a “blond female prop” and putting his hand on her arm to shush her live on air.
#MeToo Progress
Carlson credited survivors who came forward after her suit with the advent of the #MeToo movement, which held figures like Harvey Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell accountable. She rejected claims that #MeToo has failed, saying, “The media should be held accountable for putting out headlines like that. It’s very easy to write a headline, ‘Me Too is dead’ – maybe that gets more clicks and more eyeballs – but it’s disingenuous to the movement.” She added, “In 100 years, people will recognize how much progress was made in so short a period of time.”
