Television news presenter Gretchen Carlson's sexual harassment case against Fox News and its now deposed chief Roger Ailes has been settled for a reported $US20 million ($26 million).
According to US media reports, part of that cost will be borne by Ailes, 76, personally. But it is not the hefty pricetag of the lawsuit that will send shockwaves across Hollywood, but rather the speed of the settlement and the contrite language offered by 21st Century Fox in its mea culpa.
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Fox sexual harrassment lawsuit settled
Fox News will pay $20 million to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit by former anchor Gretchen Carlson against the network's ousted chief Roger Ailes.
Carlson filed suit in July, so the settlement comes after just two months.
"During her tenure at Fox News, Gretchen exhibited the highest standards of journalism and professionalism," the statement from 21st Century Fox said. "She developed a loyal audience and was a daily source of information for many Americans," it continued. "We are proud that she was part of the Fox News team."
![Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson has been a victim of workplace sexual harassment.](/web/20161116225812im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/l/x/r/x/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gradm0.png/1479256684196.jpg)
And it finished on this note: "We sincerely regret and apologise for the fact that Gretchen was not treated with the respect and dignity that she and all of our colleagues deserve."
In the original suit, filed in New Jersey Superior Court in July, Carlson alleged Ailes deliberately sabotaged her career because she "refused his sexual advances and complained about severe and pervasive sexual harassment."
The suit also claimed the pair met to discuss the discriminatory treatment to which she was subjected, but that Ailes said they ought to have had "a sexual relationship a long time ago ... sometimes problems are easier to solve that way."
And while today's settlement will go some way to spin the headline that the issue is largely in hand, the Murdoch-owned 24-hour news channel and its parent company, 21st Century Fox, still have a huge mess to clear up.
![Rupert Murdoch, who has no experience running television news, has replaced Roger Ailes as chairman of Fox News.](/web/20161116225812im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/z/i/l/0/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gradm0.png/1474797384670.jpg)
The studio has not commented on the result, if any, of the internal investigation it began in the wake of the original lawsuit, though it could be assumed that it contributed to today's speedy and costly settlement.
US media have also reported on a culture within Fox News which was indifferent to sexual harassment, with more allegations made by presenter Megyn Kelly, former talent booker Laurie Luhn and former reporter Rudi Bakhtiar.
Fox also has to deal with another lawsuit, from former Fox News host Andrea Tantaros, which claims she was punished by the network's management after she complained about sexual harassment.
"Fox News masquerades as a defender of traditional family values, but behind the scenes, it operates like a sex-fuelled, Playboy Mansion-like cult, steeped in intimidation, indecency and misogyny," the Tantaros lawsuit said.
Ailes, who resigned in July, was a high-ranking Murdoch lieutenant; he is also one of the more divisive figures in Murdoch's media empire, because of his perceived right-wing affiliation.
The 76-year-old executive also worked as a media consultant for Republican presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, and was seen by many as the architect of Fox News' right wing bias.
One of the most vocal critics of Ailes' reign at Fox News, journalist Gabriel Sherman, described a culture within Fox News where loyalty to Ailes was valued above everything else.
Sherman also told US media that Ailes promoted loyal employees to prevent them from leaving the company and criticising him.
"So he elevates them, even if they're not in positions of power, to jobs with high salaries to keep them on the payroll and to keep them under employment contracts that have strict non-disclosure agreements," Sherman said.
In 2014, Sherman wrote a book titled The Loudest Voice in the Room: How the Brilliant, Bombastic Roger Ailes Built Fox News and Divided a Country. That book detailed "multiple instances" of sexual harassment, Sherman told the National Public Radio in the US.
Sherman described Ailes as a man who is "attempting to preserve this wall of silence that he's built around himself."
In a statement issued to US media, Carlson said she was "gratified" at the action 21st Century Fox took in the wake of her complaint.
"I'm ready to move on to the next chapter of my life in which I will redouble my efforts to empower women in the workplace," Carlson said.
"I want to thank all the brave women who came forward to tell their own stories and the many people across the country who embraced and supported me.
"All women deserve a dignified and respectful workplace in which talent, hard work and loyalty are recognised, revered and rewarded."
Carlson, meanwhile, has hired one of Los Angeles' most powerful publicists, Cindi Berger.
Berger, who is a co-chairman of the public relations company PMK-BNC, has a client roster which includes veteran journalist Barbara Walters and New York-based writer Lena Dunham.
PMK-BNC has said that Carlson's next projects will include a television deal, a book deal, speaking engagements and philanthropy.