Judge Andrew Napolitano, at one point discussed as a potential Donald Trump nominee to the United States Supreme Court, has been fired from Fox News after a sexual harassment lawsuit was filed on Monday, AdWeek reports.
John Fawcett, a production assistant at Fox Business, claimed that Napolitano sexually harassed him in 2019 in an elevator the two were riding in. Fawcett reported the incident to the human resources department of the network but, he claims, executives didn’t take any action. The 27-year-old Fawcett alleges that Napolitano sexually harassed many men at the network.
Fawcett, who worked on Larry Kudlow’s show after staying with the network when Lou Dobbs was fired, also alleges that Kudlow made racist and sexist remarks during production meetings, and Fox News executive let him slide.
Fox News released a statement to Adweek: “Upon first learning of John Fawcett’s allegations against Judge Andrew Napolitano, Fox News Media immediately investigated the claims and addressed the matter with both parties. The network and Judge Napolitano have since parted ways. We take all allegations of misconduct seriously, are committed to providing a safe, transparent, and collaborative workplace environment for all our employees and took immediate, appropriate action. Furthermore, the additional allegations laid out in this claim are completely baseless and nothing more than a desperate attempt at a payday by trying the case in the court of public opinion as the complaint does not meet the standards of the law. We will defend the matter vigorously in court.”