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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
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Tomi Lahren-Glenn Beck Suit Turns Nasty

Conservative commentator Tomi Lahren asked a Dallas judge Thursday to hold Glenn Beck and his TheBlaze network in contempt for violating a court order not to criticize her during their increasingly ugly employment dispute.

DALLAS (CN) – Conservative commentator Tomi Lahren asked a Dallas judge Thursday to hold Glenn Beck and his TheBlaze network in contempt for violating a court order not to criticize her during their increasingly ugly employment dispute.

Lahren, 24, claims TheBlaze employees anonymously criticized her as a diva in a story published Wednesday by conservative website The Daily Caller.

She claims the article “goes to great lengths to publicly smear, humiliate and embarrass” her and that she cannot defend herself because the court order prevents her from criticizing them, as well.

“It took no less than 48 hours for [Beck and TheBlaze] to violate the court’s order,” the filing states, according to The Dallas Morning News. “This court should immediately get to the bottom of what appears to be a very transparent attempt at a public smear campaign by defendants.”

The defendants denied involvement in the article.

“We do not know who is commenting to the press but we are asking them to please stop and respect the court, the process, and ultimately, common decency,” a spokesman for Beck and TheBlaze said Thursday evening.

The Caller article alleges Lahren “treated staffers and floor workers with contempt and disdain” and that she “seemed to enjoy provoking her colleagues and ultimately appeared to care more about causing controversy – whether good or bad – than she cared about being honest.”

The article says Lahren would demand staffers heat up her “butt warming pad” in the microwave before every show. An unidentified source called the demand “absurd” and “dehumanizing.”

Lahren sued Beck and the Irving, Texas-based network on April 14, claiming she was effectively fired after she voiced her support for abortion rights on ABC’s “The View.”

“Stay out of my guns and you can stay out of my body as well,” she said at the time.

Lahren claims she was suspended and denied control of her Facebook profile, with more than 4 million followers.

Beck and TheBlaze countersued three days later, claiming Lahren was still employed and still being paid. They said the network decided not to extend her contract, which expires in September, because of “employment issues” dating back more than a year. They called her treatment of her show’s floor crew “inappropriate and unprofessional,” said she constantly complained and butted heads with other on-air talent. They said the network is the owner and administrator of the Facebook profile and that Lahren’s access was never removed.

Hours after the defendants filed their counterclaim, state District Judge Martin Hoffman issued a temporary restraining order restoring Lahren’s access to the Facebook page and ordered both sides to refrain from criticizing each other.

The laundry list of complaints against Lahren in The Daily Caller article largely mirror allegations Beck and TheBlaze made in their counterclaim.

“She often singled out one of the two makeup artists working for TheBlaze, yelling at and embarrassing her, even in front of guests,” the article states. “It got to the point where Lahren refused to work with that makeup artist.”

Follow @davejourno
Categories / Entertainment

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