Megyn Kelly’s upcoming memoir just saw some leaked excerpts published by Radar Online. In them, the Fox News star claims that her former boss Roger Ailes offered her career advice in exchange for sex. Kelly is one of several women who has come forward saying they were harassed by Ailes. The situation came to light after Gretchen Carlson filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against him in July.
Ailes has denied any of the inflammatory accusations that have come his way, but they were bad enough that he resigned from his post at Fox News. Many of the allegations were detailed in a New York article by Gabriel Sherman, who literally wrote the book on Ailes. Kelly, who is in the midst of a contract negotiation, seems to back up these claims, for she said it was hinted that she’d be fired if she rebuffed him, which she did. She also claimed he offered to advance her career in exchange for sex:
“Roger began pushing the limits. There was a pattern to his behavior. I would be called into Roger’s office, he would shut the door, and over the next hour or two, he would engage in a kind of cat-and-mouse game with me — veering between obviously inappropriate sexually charged comments (e.g. about the ‘very sexy bras’ I must have and how he’d like to see me in them) and legitimate professional advice.”
But one of the more interesting tidbits of the recent revelations is that Ailes appeared to start an “intense campaign” for people to defend his name, something she refused to do, saying “I was approached several times, and several times I refused. There was no way I was going to lie to protect him.” Kelly said the harassment stopped after a few months but didn’t think to bring up the allegations until Carlson and others came forward. She ultimately felt it was the best decision, saying “crossing him was a major risk, but what if — God forbid — he was still doing it to someone?”
(Via Radar Online)