Skip Bayless and Fox Sports activities are reunited, although not in a means both get together would have hoped for.
The previous Undisputed host and the Erik Shanks and Mark Silverman run outlet have been hit with a jury looking for grievance claiming Bayless propositioned a hairstylist at Fox Sports activities with $1.5 million if she would have intercourse with him.
Characterizing Fox Sports activities as den of iniquity, the 14-claim January 3 submitting in LA Superior Court docket additionally alleges that Bayless repeatedly tried to “stress” plaintiff Noushin Faraji “into having intercourse with him.”
“Ms. Faraji brings forth this motion as a result of for over a decade at Fox, she was pressured to endure a misogynistic, racist, and ableist office the place executives and expertise have been allowed to bodily and verbally abuse employees with impunity,” the sexual battery, retaliation, hostile work atmosphere and fraudulent enterprise practices claiming go well with says.
Learn the sexual battery and 13 different claims towards Skip Bayless, Fox Sports activities, Pleasure Taylor and others right here
In tones and phrases acquainted to those that have learn previous lawsuits involving sexual harassment and extra that Fox entities and executives have been slapped with over the previous decade, the potential class motion provides: “When Ms. Faraji and others got here ahead to report the wrongdoing, as an alternative of addressing their considerations, Fox retaliated towards them whereas the perpetrators and people who protected them have been inexplicitly promoted. This case thus represents one more in an extended line of instances chronicling the poisonous tradition at Fox, marked by unhealthy religion guarantees and repeated failures to handle a toxic and entrenched patriarchy.”
Detailing the July 2021 prevalence the place Bayless is alleged to have provided Faraji that $1.5 million to sleep with him, the go well with then damningly says: “Roughly one week later, Mr. Bayless made one other advance at Ms. Faraji. Ms. Faraji responded: ‘Skip, cease, you may have a spouse.’ Mr. Bayless responded: ‘Aren’t you Muslim? Doesn’t your dad have three to 4 wives?’ Ms. Faraji responded that her father was lifeless, and when Mr. Bayless seemed stunned, she made an excuse to depart.” In 2024, Faraji claims Bayless stated to her whereas she was giving him a haircut that “he fantasizes about having intercourse together with her and requested how a lot cash it might take for her to have intercourse with him. Bayless supposedly went on to say: “The extra you say no the extra I would like you.”
With all that Bayless can be alleged to have accusing Faraji of getting a sexual relationship along with his then co-host and “archrival” Shannon Sharpe. An allegation that Faraji says was completely false. Sharpe on Sunday on he and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson’s Nightcap podcast briefly addressed being talked about within the actions by saying : “That ain’t received nothing to do with me.”
Following a number of tense on-air exchanges between Bayless and Sharpe, the latter jumped over to ESPN in June 2023. In August 2024, ex-ESPN host Bayless was pink slipped by FS1 after eight-years. Each side painted that departure in rosy phrases, however declining scores after which the cancellation of Undisputed have been stated to be a serious subject – as Faraji notes in her go well with. Not lengthy after Bayless’ exit, Faraji herself was fired from FS1 “by eradicating her from the schedule fully, utilizing fabricated enterprise requirements as a pretext.”
“We take these allegations critically and don’t have any additional remark right now given this pending litigation,” a Fox spokesperson instructed Deadline as we speak. Reps for Bayless didn’t reply to request for remark from Deadline on the allegations. In the event that they do, this publish shall be up to date.
Reality is, with present Fox Sports activities host Pleasure Taylor and FS1 Content material VP Charlie Dixon named as defendants within the go well with, in addition to Bayless and quite a few Fox Sports activities company entities, Fox higher take this allegations critically.
In her 42-page go well with by attorneys Rana Ayazi and Devin Abney, Faraji says that Taylor did nothing to assist her and truly instructed her to “recover from it” after VP Dixon groped the hair stylist at a 2017 birthday celebration the on-air star was having. In truth, together with interior workplace intrigue (to place it politely) and escalating alleged affair between Taylor and Dixon and the facility performs over ladies the VP appeared to be making at FS1,, Converse co-host Taylor grew to become “romantically concerned” with FS1 colleague Emmanuel Acho in 2020, in line with Faraji – a relationship that she discovered FS1 superiors asking her about again and again.
All of which, together with Faraji calling out Fox for ”Labor Code violations” and “unfair, illegal, and fraudulent enterprise practices” with regards to pay, finds the plaintiff looking for class motion certification, a wide range of unspecified damages and Taylor and Dixon fired.
Because the submitting says:
At this level, Ms. Faraji seeks justice. She is aware of that Mr. Dixon used his place of energy to coerce ladies into having intercourse with him and used it as justification to grope Ms. Faraji. She is aware of that Mr. Dixon didn’t instantly hearth her (after Ms. Taylor and Ms. Faraji had a falling out) solely to appease Mr. Bayless by offering him with a plaything. Regardless of Ms. Faraji being a wonderful hairdresser and repeatedly being requested by expertise, she was shrunken right down to how a lot she may appease Mr. Bayless, and as soon as Mr. Bayless was gone, so was her job.
After the go well with grew to become public, quite a few associates of Bayless and others chimed in.
Amongst those that addressed Faraji’s authorized motion was Bayless’ ex-First Take associate Stephen A. Smith.
“The Skip Bayless I do know has a tough time gifting away $15, he’s one of many most cost-effective folks I do know,” the discerning NBA sports activities commentator and cultural icon famous on his podcast Monday. “That’s simply me. However that doesn’t imply that I’ve any inside information about any of this, I don’t, I don’t, and I’m not going to become involved.”
Smith went on to say: “I do know Skip, and I’m very, very heartbroken that he finds himself on this scenario, being accused of those allegations. However I can’t be over the airways being irresponsible and attaching fact or harmless, you realize, or guilt to something that I do know nothing about. All I can say, and I don’t assume it’s a criminal offense to say, is rather like I stated with Jay-Z. The person who I’ve identified for 25 years. I’ve by no means seen something like that from that individual, something near that from that individual. That’s the identical factor that I’d inform you about Skip Bayless.”
Jay-Z has been accused of raping a 13-year-old lady at a MTV VMAs get together in 2000 with the a lot accused and presently incarcerated Sean “Diddy” Combs and a but unnamed feminine “Superstar B.” The rap famous person, actual identify Shawn Carter, has vehemently denied the claims and has his lawyer Alex Spiro making an attempt a swath of techniques to get the damning prices dismissed.
Dangerous Boy Information founder Combs was arrested on September 16 on intercourse trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to have interaction in prostitution prices. Already behind bars at Brooklyn’s harsh Metropolitan Detention Middle and repeatedly denied bail, Combs’ trial is about to start out Could 5 subsequent yr.
