Fox News Channel says it has fired Judy Slater, who worked as a comptroller for the 21st Century Fox-owned cable-news outlet for nearly two decades, in the wake of what it called “abhorrent behavior” that had been brought to the attention of senior management in recent weeks.
Slater had been accused of marking derogatory comments to African-American employees at the TV unit, according to a person familiar with the matter, and was investigated after the situation was made known to Kevin Lord, executive vice president of human resources at the company, which comprises the operations of both Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network. This person said the executive had been accused of making demeaning remarks to African-American staffers and ridiculing the way she said the employees pronounced words.
Thirteen current or former Fox News employees of color, including a current anchor, have joined two racial discrimination lawsuits against the network, CNN reported Wednesday. Those dozen-plus plaintiffs are just the beginning, their lawyer predicted.
“This lawsuit will continue to grow, I suspect,” attorney Douglas Wigdor said at a press conference, according to CNN, noting that he has received calls from additional on-air Fox employees since he filed an amended version of the complaint Tuesday.
In a statement, Wigdor accused the network of “systemic race discrimination” and expressed hope that the litigation would prompt the network to take swift action.
“When it comes to racial discrimination, 21st Century Fox has been operating as if it should be called 18th Century Fox,” the statement read.
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