Second Circuit sides with Fox News in ex-producer Jennifer Eckhart’s sex harassment case

MANHATTAN (CN) — The Second Circuit on Friday declined to revive Jennifer Eckhart’s harassment claims against Fox News, which the court found could not be held responsible for the accused conduct of ex-host Ed Henry.

Eckhart, a former producer for the network, initially sued both Henry and Fox in 2020. She claimed Henry forced her into nonconsensual sex under the guise of furthering her career, and that the network failed to properly discipline its host or protect her.

She settled her claims against Henry last summer on the eve of a federal trial. She was unable to proceed on claims against Fox after a lower court found the network was not made aware of Eckhart’s claims against Henry — once it was, the court found, the network fired him.

A trio of Second Circuit judges upheld that ruling on Friday, slamming the door shut on Eckhart’s bid to hold Fox liable.

“Eckhart has not shown that Fox knew of Henry’s conduct towards her and failed to take immediate and appropriate corrective action,” the panel wrote in a 13-page ruling. “Eckhart undisputedly never told anyone at Fox about any of her sexual encounters with Henry while she was an employee. And it is undisputed that Henry never told any Fox employees about their encounters until he was interviewed after Eckhart lodged her sexual harassment complaint.”

The network didn’t learn about Eckhart’s claims until after she was fired in 2020 and her lawyers informed Fox about her accusations against Henry.

“That very day, Fox hired outside counsel to investigate and the outside counsel interviewed Henry,” the judges added. “Less than a week later, outside counsel reported to Fox that Eckhart and Henry had sexual contact at Fox Headquarters, and Fox fired Henry the next day.”

Eckhart had argued that Fox only fired Henry to get ahead of her looming lawsuit. She accused the network of violating New York City Human Rights Law, which issues broad protections for employees from harassment, discrimination and retaliation.

But according to the judges, Eckhart also failed to show Fox “should have known” about the accused conduct. At the time, the only conduct from Henry on the network’s radar was a 2016 extramarital affair with a Las Vegas stripper.

That incident was handled by the network, the judges found, including by directing Henry to a sexual rehab clinic and treatment program. It also “suspended Henry, took him off the air for several months, reduced his annual pay and removed him from the role of Chief White House Correspondent," the panel wrote.

The judges ruled quickly, filing the opinion just eight days after oral arguments. U.S. Circuit judges Myrna Perez and Beth Robinson, both Joe Biden appointees, and U.S. Circuit Judge Susan Carney, a Barack Obama appointee, were behind the order.

Neither a spokesperson for Fox nor counsel for Eckhart immediately responded to requests for comment.

In her bombshell 2020 lawsuit, Eckhart accused Henry, the former co-host of America’s Newsroom, of luring her to a midtown Manhattan hotel room in 2017. There, she said Henry bound her with metal handcuffs and raped her.

“Mr. Henry performed sadistic acts on her without her consent that left her injured, bruised and battered with bloody wrists,” she claimed.

Henry also sent her sexually charged texts, calling her “my little whore” and demanding “more anal” sex, according to Eckhart’s complaint, which featured photos of the messages.

Eckhart had accused Henry of sex trafficking, sexual harassment, gender discrimination and subjecting her to a hostile work environment. Prior to the settlement, her lawyers said in court the FBI had probed Henry for a possible sex trafficking indictment, but one never came to fruition.

Henry is now an anchor at far-right cable network Newsmax.

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