A former Fox Sports hairdresser has filed suit against Fox Sports, alleging she was a victim of sexual harassment and fired for not having sex with commentator Skip Bayless.
The former employee, Noushin Faraji, claims in her lawsuit that Bayless offered to give her $1.5 million to have sex with him, but she refused his offer, according to Variety.
She also claims that Bayless hinted that he could get her fired for having an affair with his co-host, Shannon Sharpe, an act she denies ever happened.
Faraji, who is of Iranian heritage, also claims she was racially and sexually harassed while working at the network and accuses Fox of wrongful termination, retaliation, and harassment.
The complainant further alleges that the Fox human resources department ignored her complaints over the alleged treatment and says that instead of helping her, officials worked to protect the top on-air staff. In particular, she accused Charlie Dixon, the executive vice president of content, and Joy Taylor, from the Undisputed show, of refusing to heed her warnings about Bayless’s behavior.
Faraji claims that the only reason Taylor was hired is because she was in a sexual relationship with Dixon and that when she brought her concerns to Taylor, she was told to forget it all because both of them owed their jobs to Dixon.
Faraji claims that Bayless repeatedly tried to get her to have sex with him, even after she directly told him to stop because “you have a wife.”
A voice recording of Bayless pleading with Faraji to have sex with him is also reportedly part of the suit. The recording allegedly features Bayless saying, “I have love for you, and I have for six years, and you hurt me, and you are ruining this,” and also waning her about having sex with Sharpe (something she denies every doing).
Faraji insists that Bayless once told her that Dixon wanted to fire her, but he stepped up to protect her job.
After Bayless left Fox Sports, Faraji’s work schedule was cut down, and she was eventually fired. Fox said she was let go for workforce reduction and no other reason.
“When Ms. Faraji and others came forward to report the wrongdoing, instead of addressing their concerns, Fox retaliated against them while the perpetrators and those who protected them were inexplicitly (sic) promoted,” the lawsuit says. “This case thus represents yet another in a long line of cases chronicling the toxic culture at Fox.”
So far, Fox has only released the typical “we take all allegations seriously” statement on the lawsuit.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston, or Truth Social @WarnerToddHuston
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.