• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
LeadershipMedia and Technology

Former Fox News Chief Roger Ailes Faces New Sexual Harassment Allegations

By
Reuters
Reuters
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Reuters
Reuters
Down Arrow Button Icon
December 13, 2016, 10:28 PM ET
The Hollywood Reporter Celebrates "The 35 Most Powerful People In Media" - Arrivals
Roger Ailes, President of Fox News Channel attends the Hollywood Reporter celebration of "The 35 Most Powerful People in Media" at the Four Season Grill Room on April 11, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)Stephen Lovekin—Getty Images

New sexual harassment accusations against former Fox News network chief Roger Ailes were revealed in a lawsuit filed against 21st Century Fox (FOX) on Monday.

The lawsuit comes just months after Fox News agreed to pay $20 million to settle separate allegations of sexual harassment of female staff at Fox News by Ailes.

The federal discrimination lawsuit filed in New York alleges that Ailes offered Lidia Curanaj, whose legal name is Lidija Ujkic, an interview to join the Fox News Network after meeting her at a dinner in 2011.

After being interviewed in a group setting, Ailes invited her to a private interview, the complaint said. He then told her it was “important [for female talent] to look good from head to toe,” and asked her to stand and turn around for him.

The suit also alleged that Ailes later contacted a man Curanaj previously dated asking if she would “put out” sexually. The man told Ailes she likely would not, the suit said, after which she was turned down for the job.

An attorney for Ailes could not be immediately reached to comment on the accusations, though he has consistently denied similar sexual harassment allegations.

Curanaj’s lawsuit does not name Ailes or Fox News as a defendant, but rather alleges gender, age, race and pregnancy discrimination on the part of her employer, New York Fox TV station WNYW.

For more on Roger Ailes, watch Fortune’s video:

The suit claims that when Curanaj confronted the station’s news director about not being promoted to anchor despite her journalistic experience and successes, he replied she was “not attractive enough to be an anchor.”

A spokeswoman for Fox TV Stations, a subsidiary of 21st Century Fox, said in an emailed statement, “We do not think the plaintiff’s claims have merit, and we intend to defend vigorously.”

Fox News in September agreed to pay $20 million to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by former anchor Gretchen Carlson. A subsequent internal investigation of the company turned up more than two dozen women who described harassment by Ailes, according to New York Magazine.

About the Author
By Reuters
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Leadership

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
'I just don't have a good feeling about this': Top economist Claudia Sahm says the economy quietly shifted and everyone's now looking at the wrong alarm
By Eleanor PringleJanuary 31, 2026
10 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Right before Trump named Warsh to lead the Fed, Powell seemed to respond to some of his biggest complaints about the central bank
By Jason MaJanuary 30, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Politics
The American taxpayer spent nearly half a billion dollars deploying federal troops to U.S. cities in 2025, CBO finds
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 28, 2026
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
AI
Top engineers at Anthropic, OpenAI say AI now writes 100% of their code—with big implications for the future of software development jobs
By Beatrice NolanJanuary 29, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Big Tech
Microsoft’s $440 billion wipeout, and investors angry about OpenAI’s debt, explained
By Eva RoytburgJanuary 29, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Asia
Trump’s Greenland play comes with Russia and China running circles around the US in the Arctic as expert sees ‘big game of catch-up’
By Tristan BoveJanuary 30, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Latest in Leadership

AIData Security
Moltbook, a social network where AI agents hang together, may be ‘the most interesting place on the internet right now’
By Jason MaJanuary 31, 2026
34 minutes ago
texas A&M
PoliticsColleges and Universities
Conservative cancel culture clashes with college and social media at Texas A&M to bring curtain down on women’s and gender studies
By Juan A. Lozano and The Associated PressJanuary 31, 2026
3 hours ago
Future of WorkAutos
Ford CEO has 5,000 open mechanic jobs with up to 6-figure salaries from the shortage of manually skilled workers: ‘We are in trouble in our country’
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJanuary 31, 2026
3 hours ago
Photo of Alexis Ohanian
SuccessFounders
Alexis Ohanian walked out of the LSAT 20 minutes in, went to a Waffle House, and decided he was ‘gonna invent a career.’ He founded Reddit
By Preston ForeJanuary 31, 2026
3 hours ago
north carolina
North Americamigration
North Carolina emerges as the affordable millennial destination as Florida fades and Texans trickle out
By Mike Schneider and The Associated PressJanuary 31, 2026
3 hours ago
Ryan Serhant taking a selfie
SuccessProductivity
Ryan Serhant starts work at 4:30 a.m.—he says most people don’t achieve their dreams because ‘what they really want is just to be lazy’
By Preston ForeJanuary 31, 2026
5 hours ago