Deadline reported that Britt McHenry has departed Fox News after reaching a settlement over a sexual harrassment claim against George Murdoch aka Tyrus (the former Brodus Clay during his time in WWE.) Both parties filed stipulation for voluntary dismissal of the case on Monday in federal court.
Fox News Media issued the following statement:
"While Fox News is confident it would have prevailed in the lawsuit, we are pleased that we have been able to resolve this matter without further litigation."
Yeah sure you were, If you were so confident then how come you were quick to settle out of court? If you were confident then you wouldn't have done that so quickly. Makes you go, HHHMMM.
Tyrus' attorney, Tom Clare, issued the following statement:
"Tyrus is pleased that the parties have reached a settlement in which the claims against him will be dismissed with prejudice. Tyrus continues to dispute and deny the allegations made against him in the lawsuit and, consistent with that view, will not be making any financial payments.
McHenry filed a sexual-harassment complaint against George Murdoch (aka Tyrus), among others, including the FOX News Network, Fox Entertainment Group, Fox Corp, News Corp, Fox Nation head John Finley, Fox Nation executive producer Jennifer Rauchet and FOX human resources executive Monica Mekeel in December 2019 over lewd text messages she alleged she received while she and Murdoch were co-hosting FOX News' Un-PC.
The story first came to light in June 2018 when The Daily Beast in Great Britain reported that Tyrus had been removed from the series and later followed up with accusations that Tyrus had allegedly sexually harassed McHenry. The Beast’s report alleged that Tyrus, “on multiple occasions, sent her unwanted and unsolicited text messages with lewd, sexual comments.”
The Beast’s report led to FOX News issuing the following statement: “While we are not at liberty to discuss the details of any employee matter, we follow strict protocols when matters such as these are brought to our attention, and we make no exceptions. The process works because of the extensive systems and measures we have instituted. This situation was independently investigated and we consider the matter resolved. We respect the confidentiality of all involved.”
McHenry responded to the FOX News statement, tweeting (and later deleting), "You act like I don't like have proof," she wrote. "Smh [Shaking my head]. Carry on." McHenry later hired attorney Douglas Wigdor, who had previously filed a number of lawsuits for clients allegedly wronged by FOX News.
Murdoch was a former bodyguard for Snoop Dogg who was signed to a WWE developmental deal and trained in the WWE system. Christened Brodus Clay, he officially debuted for the WWE main roster as the Dancing “Funkasaurus” in 2012, working for the company for several years. After departing WWE, Murdoch began using the ring name Tyrus and worked for Impact Wrestling and would at times appear on FOX News via satellite from backstage at Impact tapings in Orlando. After first appearing on the Greg Gutfield Show, Murdoch's role on the cable news network gradually grew.
When asked by The Hollywood Reporter's Jeremy Barr whether his departure from UN-PC was related to McHenry via private messaging on Twitter, Murdoch responded, "No comment and don't message me again," before blocking Barr on the social media platform.
Murdoch's attorney Tom Clare told The Wrap in December 2019 that Murdoch denied McHenry’s accusations and would be pursuing defamation counterclaims. “He looks forward to having a public forum in the court system to clear his name from the smear campaign that has been waged against him in the media,” Clare said.
After leaving UN-PC, Murdoch was given his own series on FOX News’ streaming platform that was regularly plugged during WWE's Friday Night Smackdown. As Tyrus, he appears regularly for the National Wrestling Alliance.
Here's the link to the deadline report. https://deadline.com/2021/07/britt-mchenry-sexual-harassment-fox-news-1234796046/
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