Like the clockwork ticking over in some big, shitty clock, another Fox News host has been hit with sexual harassment claims today. Variety reports that Eric Bolling, host of The Specialists on Fox News, has been accused of sending unsolicited sexual pictures to at least three different women he’s worked with over the years.
The Huffington Post first broke the story, citing information from 14 anonymous sources from in and around Fox News and Fox Business, many of who said they’d seen the photos in question. (HuffPo declined to name any of the women directly involved.) When asked about the alleged harassment, a lawyer for Bolling went on the offensive, saying, “Mr. Bolling recalls no such inappropriate communications, does not believe he sent any such communications, and will vigorously pursue his legal remedies for any false and defamatory accusations that are made.”
Bolling is the latest of many Fox hosts to be accused of treating the women around them as disposable receptacles for their sexual urges in the last year; last month, Fox Business’ Charles Payne was sued for harassment over accusations that he’d used his position to “punish” a woman he’d been having a relationship with. Before that, there was Fox Sports’ Jamie Horowitz. Before that, there was Bill O’Reilly. And looming above them all, the now-dead Roger Ailes, who was fired from his position as CEO of Fox News a little more than a year ago over various harassment charges, an ouster that seems to have kicked off an endless cascade of revelations about the sexual culture at the company. (We’re at a very weird, unsettling point in modern journalism, when we can look at a conspiracy-prone ideologue like Sean Hannity and think, “Well, at least he keeps his dick in his pants.”)
Bolling is a former commodities trader, who joined the company in 2007 (after departing CNBC). When asked about the allegations today, a spokesperson for Fox said, “We were just informed of this and plan to investigate the matter.”
UPDATE: Variety reports that Bolling has now been suspended from his position at Fox News. “Eric Bolling has been suspended pending the results of an investigation, which is currently underway,” the company said in a statement. Meanwhile, Fox Business has replaced episodes of his show Cashin’ In with a live news broadcast. Both networks are expected to replace Bolling in his various shows with substitute hosts.