Political commentator Scottie Nell Hughes files lawsuit against Fox News and Charles Payne
Scottie Nell Hughes, who accused Charles Payne of raping her, has filed a lawsuit against Payne and Fox News on Monday. She alleged that she was raped by Fox Business Network host Charles in July of 2013.
Charles Payne was suspended for two months after the allegation
Payne was suspended from his role as an on-air host of Fox Business News on July 6, 2017, after Hughes revealed that she was sexually harassed by him. Payne, along with Fox News and 21st Century Fox was investigated by the law firm Paul, Weiss.
Payne got back his hosting duties on September 8 after he was cleared in the investigation.
Scottie Nell Hughes’ lawsuit once again names Payne, Fox News and 21st Century Fox
Hughes revealed in the lawsuit that she was coerced into a relationship with Payne to continue her appearances on the network and that it would lead her to become a commentator on Fox News.
She further divulged that her opportunities to appear on Fox News and Fox Business Network stopped after ending the relationship with Payne in 2016.
Payne still denies all the accusations made by Hughes as he did while they were first made in July.
Eric Bolling fired from Fox News post sexual harassment investigation. Who will replace him?
Eric Bolling’s son found dead hours after Fox News fired him on Friday
Payne’s lawyer Jonathan Halpern says, “My client Charles Payne vehemently denies any wrongdoing and will defend himself vigorously against this baseless complaint. We are confident that when the evidence is presented in this case, Mr. Payne will be fully vindicated and these outrageous accusations against him will be confirmed as completely false.”
Meanwhile, Hughes’ lawyer Douglas Wigdor has said in a statement, “As alleged in the complaint, after Ms. Hughes confidentially reached out to Fox to disclose that she was sexually assaulted and raped by Fox anchor Charles Payne, Fox ruthlessly leaked her name to a reporter at the National Enquirer, along with a self-serving ‘statement’ by Payne apologizing for what he falsely described as an ‘affair.’ We intend to aggressively litigate Ms. Hughes’ claims and hold Fox accountable to the fullest extent under the law.”
Speaking for Payne, a Fox News spokesperson has claimed the lawsuit to have “absolutely no merit” and that it will “vigorously” defend the lawsuit.
Fox News Channel fired Bill O’Reilly after New York Times revealed his sexual harassment cases
The spokesperson said, “The latest publicity stunt of a lawsuit filed by Doug Wigdor has absolutely no merit and is downright shameful. We will vigorously defend this. It’s worth noting that Doug is Ms. Hughes’ third representative in the last six months to raise some variation of these claims which concern events from four years ago, since it apparently took some time to find someone willing to file this bogus case.”