His show has been cancelled. The longtime conservative news executive will soon be out of a job after his standing went into a sudden free fall after allegations of sexual harassment from former Fox News Channel host Gretchen Carlson.
A number of other women were reportedly ready to come forward with allegations of misconduct against the 76-year-old, including the network’s current leading female personality, Megyn Kelly. Fox hasn’t confirmed the departure, telling Deadline, “Roger is at work. The review is ongoing. And the only agreement that is in place is his existing employment agreement.”
The “review” in question is an internal investigation being conducted by the company to look into the allegations against Ailes, a onetime political consultant and former aide to Richard Nixon who is credited with helping George H.W. Bush win the White House in 1988.
His departure could have huge ramifications for Fox News, which has dominated cable news for well over a decade. The Financial Times reports that Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity and Greta Van Susteren, arguably the network’s three biggest stars, all have clauses in their contracts allowing them to depart FNC if Ailes leaves the network.
How he leaves could also say a lot about the network. In an earlier report on the matter, the Drudge Report claimed that Ailes would leave the network with a severance package upwards of $40 million. Not only is that an astronomical sum for someone you’re forcing out of the network but it raises all sorts of questions about the ethics of paying someone a windfall of cash in what amounts to a reward for decades of allegations of sexual harassment.
