Fox contributor suing over Ailes harassment says she’s leaving the network

Julie Roginsky, a Democratic Fox News contributor suing the network over alleged sexual harassment by its former CEO Roger Ailes, said on Thursday that she is leaving the company.

“Today marks my last episode of ‘The Clapback’ and my last week at Fox,” Roginsky said on the air. “Hopefully you’ve learned words can cut really deep but you can also stand up to trolls, teach them something bigger and be the bigger woman.”

“I’ve enjoyed it; I’ve enjoyed you. Thank you so much for watching ‘The Clapback,’ thank you so much for watching me on TV all these years,” she added. “One of the joys in my life was interacting with you, whether it was agreeing with you, or clapping back at you.”

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Roginsky, a former Democratic strategist, joined Fox News as a contributor in 2011 and hosted the web series “The Clapback.”

Roginsky filed a bombshell lawsuit against Fox News, Ailes and then-co-president Bill Shine in April, alleging that Ailes had sought a sexual relationship with her in exchange for a regular hosting spot on the show “The Five.” 

In the lawsuit, filed in the New York Supreme Court, Roginsky says she refused Ailes’s proposition and that by doing so, the network denied her certain on-air opportunities.

Ailes resigned as chairman and CEO of Fox News in July 2016 amid a slew of allegations that he sexually harassed female employees. He passed away in May.

Shine, a close ally of Ailes, was forced out at the network in May. He faced accusations that he sought to cover up Ailes’s behavior and failed to address sexual harassment complaints by Fox News’ female employees.

Roginsky did not specify her reason for leaving the company in her farewell message on Thursday.

Fox News has come under fire in recent months following Ailes resignation and the ouster of Bill O’Reilly, the network’s top on-air personality, who similarly faced mounting accusations of sexual harassment.