Another Fox News Personality Out for Alleged Sexual Misconduct

Eric Bolling suspended from Fox News after

allegations of lewd texting

TV host accused of sending unsolicited photos of male genitalia to several co-workers, according to Huff Post

By Zulekha Nathoo, CBC News 

Fox News host Eric Bolling has been suspended from work pending an investigation into allegations he sent lewd photos to female co-workers. (Noam Galai/Getty Images)

Eric Bolling, host of the shows The Fox News Specialists and Cashin' In, has been suspended from the American cable network following a Huffington Post article alleging he sent lewd photos to co-workers.

According to a statement from Fox News to the CBC, an investigation into allegations against the television host is underway.

Report leads to suspension

A spokesperson for Fox News said Cashin In', a business analysis program which was taped Friday as usual, was pulled from airing once the media outlet "was made aware of the allegations" through the Huffington Post story. The show was replaced Saturday by a live half hour of news.

A story published Friday by Huffington Post alleges that Bolling, 54, "sent an unsolicited photo of male genitalia via text message" to three female colleagues several years ago. The article cites a dozen unnamed sources.

Bolling, a New York Times bestselling author, has held positions with Fox News Channel since 2008 as a host, conservative political commentator and financial analyst.

Network has faced multiple accusations in past year

Fox News, a right-leaning media outlet and the most-watched on American cable television, has faced a number of sexual harassment allegations recently.

Host Bill O'Reilly was fired earlier this year after a New York Times report revealed five women had received settlements totaling $13 million US after they alleged sexual harassment, prompting numerous advertisers to pull out of his highly rated talk show, The O'Reilly Factor.

Roger Ailes, who died in May at the age of 77, resigned from his post as head of Fox News amid accusations of sexual harassment.

Bolling 'does not believe' he sent texts

A lawyer for Bolling told the Huffington Post that his client "recalls no such inappropriate communications" and "does not believe he sent any such communications" when asked about the alleged texts.

Seriously? Are they his parts? It should be easy enough to determine if the texts are still available.

The law firm of Paul Weiss is conducting the investigation. According to Fox News, rotating substitute hosts will fill in for Bolling on Cashin' In and The Specialists, a nightly program which discusses top news stories through a multi-person panel.

The Specialists was created in May after Fox News was forced to revise its lineup to fill the void left by O'Reilly's ouster.

Fox has some serious cleaning up to do; it's culture stinks!

Fox Family Values Crusader Loses Custody of Children

Fox host Bill O’Reilly loses custody of children amid abuse allegations

O'Reilly launched his primetime FNC show 20 years ago. © Brendan McDermid / Reuters

Fox News Channel host Bill O’Reilly lost custody of his teenage children over allegations of domestic abuse by his ex-wife.

The New York Appellate Division unanimously ruled that O’Reilly’s 13- and 17-year-old children should live full time with their mother, Maureen McPhilmy, who was married to the conservative commentator for 15 years.

A 1,400 word opinion using anonymous names was issued by the court last week, but the media only figured out who it was this week.

The ruling states it was the “clearly stated preferences of the children” to live with McPhilmy, citing their “age and maturity” as well as “the home environment provided” by her.

This affirms the original ruling by Nassau County Supreme Court in May 2015, which O’Reilly had appealed to delay its enforcement, Gawker reported.

O’Reilly and McPhilmy will share legal custody in material matters concerning the children, such as schooling, medical care, and religious guidance.

Following the initial ruling last year, it emerged O’Reilly’s 17-year-old daughter claimed she had witnessed O’Reilly “choking her mom” and that he had “dragged her down some stairs”.

She has said she found O’Reilly’s temper “scary” and also branded him an “adulterer” and an absentee father as he was “never around”.

Speaking to Politico at the time, O’Reilly described the allegations as "100 percent false".

"I am going to respect the court-mandated confidentiality put in place to protect my children and will not comment any further," he added.

O’Reilly and McPhilmy initially separated in April 2010 and then divorced in September 2011.

Since their legal separation, O’Reilly has been seen to try and undermine his wife on a number of occasions, according to reports.

In 2011, O'Reilly allegedly sought for an internal investigation to be conducted at Nassau County Police Department into a police officer which his ex-wife was now dating.

McPhilmy was reprimanded by her local church after O’Reilly reportedly told church leaders that even though she was a divorcee, she was still receiving communion, which is frowned upon in the Catholic Church.

It's also understood that the church told McPhilmy - at O'Reilly’s urging - to stop telling her children that her second marriage was valid in the eyes of God.

In 2004, O’Reilly settled a sexual harassment lawsuit levelled against him by a former producer for the ‘Falafelgate’ scandal, who claimed he repeatedly subjected her to “lewd, lascivious, vile, and threatening” behavior.

While it is pretty disgraceful behaviour, it doesn't negate the need for family values in modern society. It does though seem to reveal the need for anyone to maintain some control of his temper, even if they are Irish; and it shows a need for people to have an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ which allows us to display His grace and compassion rather than living under rules and regulations of church hierarchy.

Ms McPhilmy, you are welcome in any evangelical church where divorcing an adulterer is not a crime, and an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ is encouraged.