A former Fox News producer, Abby Grossberg, has filed lawsuits against the network in New York and Delaware, accusing the company’s lawyers of coercing her into giving misleading testimony in the Dominion Voting Systems defamation case. The producer alleges that Fox’s legal team attempted to shift the blame onto her and anchor Maria Bartiromo for the network’s repeated airing of unfounded conspiracy theories about Dominion’s alleged role in manipulating the 2020 US presidential election.
Ms. Grossberg asserts that Fox News lawyers attempted to avoid mentioning male executives and on-air talent to protect them from any blame, while putting her own reputation at risk.
Ms. Grossberg’s lawsuits also include details about her experiences at Fox News, claiming that she and other women endured frank and open sexism from co-workers and superiors at the network, which has faced numerous lawsuits and allegations regarding sexual harassment by Fox executives and stars. She says that the network’s disregard for women left her and Ms. Bartiromo understaffed and overstretched, making it difficult to properly vet the truthfulness of claims made against Dominion on the air. At times, she alleges that she was the only full-time employee dedicated solely to Ms. Bartiromo’s Sunday-morning show.
The new lawsuits, combined with revelations from the Dominion legal battle, shed light on the rivalries and turf battles that raged at Fox News in the aftermath of the 2020 election. As network executives fought to retain viewers angry at the top-rated network for accurately reporting on President Donald J. Trump’s defeat in Arizona, a crucial swing state, internal conflicts erupted.
