Megyn Kelly initially kept quiet when Gretchen Carlson’s sexual harassment allegations against former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes emerged. It had been a decade since Kelly herself suffered  from Ailes’s sexually harassing behavior, which only ended when Kelly made her refusal as clear as day and complained to anyone at Fox who would listen to her.  Eventually, Ailes got the message. Ailes and Kelly went on to have a successful professional relationship, with Ailes serving as Kelly’s mentor for many years. But Kelly never forgot.

Then, in July of 2016, former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson brought a lawsuit against Ailes for sexual harassment. The torrent of events that followed threatened to destroy Fox News and created ripples throughout the industry. Kelly described an “underground army” of news media women, who came forward each with their own horror stories of sexual harassment at the hands of their bosses.

In her new memoir, Settle for More, Megyn Kelly writes about her experiences with sexual harassment. She claims that Fox executives initially told her to defend Ailes publicly when the allegations surfaced. When she refused, the network began publishing “hit pieces” about her, suggesting that her silence regarding Ailes was selfishly motivated and designed to bolster her as a “feminist” champion of women (although Kelly would deny the feminist label).

Little did the network know that Kelly had plenty to say about Ailes. She credits her daughter Yardley with giving her the strength to speak up, to prevent this from ever happening to another woman at Fox News again. With some trepidation, Megyn Kelly called the Executive Chairman of 21^st Century Fox, Lachlan Murdoch, and revealed truth about Ailes.

Much has happened since the news media sexual harassment shake-up of 2016. Rather than defend Ailes, who co-founded Fox News two decades ago, 21^st Century Fox investigated and eventually ousted him as CEO. Gretchen Carlson received a $20 million settlement in September of 2016 to resolve her sexual harassment lawsuit against Ailes, and Megyn Kelly’s book has now been published, putting her own struggle with sexual harassment in print for the world to see.

For those saying these unanticipated major events represent a victory for professional women in news media, this writer could hardly disagree with them. Unfortunately, for many other women in innumerable business venues, the war against sexual harassment is far from over.

Kelly talks in her book about how important it is for women to seek help and report sexual harassment to supervisors and others who have a legal obligation to help. She also suggests seeking out “highly placed” women within the company, asking them for help if you are in situation where a top executive is causing you harm.

In addition, if you have been a sexual harassment victim, or may be one today, you should contact a skilled and experienced attorney who can help you. Remedies may include a transfer, discipline for the harasser (up to and including termination), getting your job back if you were fired, obtaining compensation for front pay, back pay, the cash equivalent of lost benefits, pain and suffering damages, punitive damages, counsel fees and costs, and, in general, making sexual harassment a thing of the past for you.

When you need legal counsel and advice, you should call the employment law attorneys at Hanan M. Isaacs, P. C., at 609-683-7400, or contact us online, to get the conversation started.  We will arrange a near-term reduced fee initial consultation.  We will listen to your facts, advise you as to the relevant law, and recommend the best course of action for you to pursue — to obtain a fair measure of economic and civil justice.  Call now. You will be glad you did.