Fox News cut ties with Abby Grossberg on Friday, according to Variety , after host and host producer Tucker Carlson and Maria Bartiram said in court earlier this week that executives coerced her into giving misleading testimony in a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit filed against her. Dominion Vote. Systems sued Fox Corp.
Grossberg, who served as Bartiram's chief producer and Carlson's director of reservations, said in documents filed with the Delaware Supreme Court and US District Court for the Southern District of New York that Fox's attorneys were working to "educate, manipulate, and coerce Madam: Grossberg in order to provide vague and/or inappropriate responses." Completed during his testimony, responses that clearly hurt his reputation but benefited Fox News greatly,” says the lawsuit he filed in Delaware.
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The former Fox News employee's claims were unexpected because it sounded exactly like Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corp. They will meet for a hearing in Delaware to see if the Dominion case goes to trial, as many expect. Dominion's lawsuit was explosive, as the company said it was damaged after Fox News made false claims about the company's stock and its impact on the 2020 election. Testimony published in the case damaged the credibility of Fox executives and reporters, many of whom were skeptical. Reports and emails related to some of the claims made by Fox show respondents about Dominion.
“Like many other organizations, Fox News Media's attorneys seek advice from our employees as needed. Last week, our attorneys informed Ms. Grossberg that while she may pursue any legal action, she owns our inside information and is not authorized to disclose it publicly,” Fox News said. In a statement after he was contacted by Variety, "We were clear that if he violated our policies, Fox would take appropriate action, including firing him ." SM Grossberg ignored the reports and decided to file a complaint without taking any steps to protect the internal parts of Fox. We will continue to vigorously defend Fox against Ms. Grossberg's baseless claims that are full of false allegations against Fox and our employees."
Grossberg also spoke of a cruel culture in the corridors of Fox News, where women were mistreated and Carlson's staff made rude comments about women and Jews.
Grossberg's attorney, Parisis G. Philippatos, could not be reached for comment. Grossberg was placed on administrative leave after her papers were revealed, and Fox filed a separate lawsuit against her in an effort to prevent her from filing complaints that could provide insight into her negotiations with corporate attorneys.
Both sides of the Dominion case are now waiting for Judge Eric Davis to decide whether to order the case to go to trial or decide the outcome of the case himself. The judge can also decide what information can be used in a case, which executives should testify, and whether they should testify in person.
Fox accused Dominion of "faking" comments from hosts and executives to create drama around a case that, if prosecuted, would likely become one of the media industry's most talked-about shows in 2023. Earlier this week, Dominion said "We look forward to to the court's decision.
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