Fox: Fired Anchor Is Embarrassing Himself With Lawsuit

Ed Henry, the former Fox anchor fired last year over sexual misconduct allegations, says the network is led by hypocrites who have smeared his name. In a lawsuit filed against the network and CEO Suzanne Scott Wednesday, Henry accuses Scott of covering up sexual misconduct by senior Fox management, USA Today reports. He claims the CEO gave "credence to the false allegations because she was trying to save her own career and burnish her image as a tough, no nonsense female executive who cleaned up Fox News." Henry's lawsuit claims that the misconduct Scott "whitewashed" included an affair between Fox News President Jay Wallace and a subordinate.

Henry is seeking punitive damages in the defamation lawsuit. In a statement, Fox praised Scott and said it fully stands by Henry's firing, the Hill reports. The network said it will defend itself as Henry "further embarrasses himself in a lawsuit rife with inaccuracies after driving his personal life into the ground with countless extramarital affairs in a desperate attempt for relevance and redemption." The network said the Wallace allegations had been investigated, and he was cleared of wrongdoing. CNN—Henry's employer before he moved to Fox in 2011—reports that Henry was accused of rape in a lawsuit filed by former Fox Business Network producer Jennifer Eckhart soon after he was fired. (More Ed Henry stories.)