The FOX News booking producer who filed a lawsuit last month against longtime host Tucker Carlson says she celebrates his abrupt dismissal, noting “he made my life hell.”
Abby Grossberg, who was fired by FOX shortly after filing two separate lawsuits against the network earlier this year, said in an MSNBC interview on Tuesday that Carlson and her show’s executive producer, Justin Wells, were “responsible for breaking me”.
Speaking about the moment she found out that Carlson had been abruptly fired on Monday, Grossberg said she felt a multitude of different emotions.
‘At first there were feelings of “Yes!” and then also the reality that you don’t want anything bad to happen to anyone,” she said.
“But at the same time, Tucker and his executive producer Justin Wells, who was also fired, were really responsible for breaking me up and making my life hell. So there is a sense of justice, but it’s only partial.
Abby Grossberg, who was fired by FOX shortly after filing two separate lawsuits against the network earlier this year, opened up about Tucker Carlson’s firing on Tuesday.
The longtime host was unceremoniously fired on Monday after 14 years at the station
Grossberg said she wanted to join Carlson’s show because it was a promotion from her old job for Maria Bartiromo, and she got a good feel for the staff during her interview.
“I was hoping it would be more professional and what he was portraying on air was just a show, and sadly it wasn’t,” she said on Tuesday.
Insiders have suggested that his lawsuit alleging bullying, sexism and anti-Semitism among senior Carlson executives, coupled with his own “disparaging” remarks about senior News Corp executives, led Rupert Murdoch to fire the star host.
According to her 79-page discrimination lawsuit, Carlson fostered an environment where “unprofessionalism reigned supreme, and staff disgust and contempt for women seeped into nearly every decision of the workday.”
She claims she was personally the victim of anti-Semitism at the hands of Alexander McCaskill, a senior producer, because he put up a “nonsense Christmas” poster in the reservation area despite knowing she was Jewish, as well as a sign reading “Hanukah bush” which she took as a personal insult.
McCaskill, according to the lawsuit, also tormented another Jewish employee for buying lunch at Breads, which Grossberg claims he called the “Jewish Bakery.”
Grossberg also claims that in deciding the setting for Carlson’s prime-time show, producers including Wells – who also left Fox yesterday – chose female guests based on their appearance and made inappropriate remarks to about their female colleagues.
Grossberg’s lawsuit makes specific allegations against Justin Wells (left), Carlson’s senior executive producer who also left Fox yesterday, and Alexander McCaskill (right), another senior producer on his show
Grossberg also claims she was pressured by Fox attorneys to lie or downplay her concerns about Dominion. Fox strenuously refuted these claims.
She claims their office was ‘plastered’ with ‘enlarged photographs of Nancy Pelosi in a plunging swimsuit revealing her cleavage’.
“The images were pasted on his computer and elsewhere in the office. Apparently the “joke” was that President Pelosi looked terrible in a bathing suit.
In another instance, Grossberg claims she was transported to Wells’ office where he asked if Bartiromo was “f*****g Kevin McCarthy.”
In general, she claims there was a “pervasive” culture of misogyny on the show, and she was “ignored” when she suggested balancing out the segments by adding female guests.
She described a ‘rude and sexist discussion’ over whether Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer was ‘hotter or more f****ble’ than her Republican rival Tudor Dixon, and also claims that he There were frequent discussions where “lack of professionalism reigned supreme.”
Grossberg also claims she was pressured by Fox attorneys not to share incriminating information while being grilled in the Dominion lawsuit.
This specific claim has been vigorously refuted by Fox.
“FOX News has engaged independent outside counsel to immediately investigate the concerns raised by Ms. Grossberg, which arose following a critical performance review.
“His allegations regarding the Dominion matter are without merit and we will continue to vigorously defend Fox against its unsubstantiated legal claims which are riddled with false allegations against the network and our employees,” a spokesperson for the network told DailyMail.com .
Carlson’s dismissal was a direct order from Rupert Murdoch, according to sources quoted by the Los Angeles Times yesterday, and was carried out by Lachlan Murdoch
Carlson’s firing was a direct order from Rupert Murdoch, according to sources quoted by the Los Angeles Times yesterday.
A network insider told DailyMail.com that staff were stunned by the decision.
“Tucker has still not received any indication as to why he was taken off the air. Its producer Justin Wells was also fired.
“We think Rupert wants to sell the business and it’s harder to find an institutional buyer with Tucker as the main star.
“Tucker’s demise makes it a more attractive media company to buy.”
Shares of Fox Corp, the company that owns the news network, fell as much as 5% yesterday, costing the company millions of dollars.