Skip Bayless and Fox Sports activities are reunited, although not in a means both occasion 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 criticism 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 staff with impunity,” the sexual battery, retaliation, hostile work surroundings and fraudulent enterprise practices claiming swimsuit says.
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 a substitute of addressing their issues, Fox retaliated in opposition to them whereas the perpetrators and those that protected them have been inexplicitly promoted. This case thus represents one more in a protracted line of circumstances chronicling the poisonous tradition at Fox, marked by dangerous religion guarantees and repeated failures to deal with 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 swimsuit then damningly says: “Roughly one week later, Mr. Bayless made one other advance at Ms. Faraji. Ms. Faraji responded: ‘Skip, cease, you’ve 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 go away.” In 2024, Faraji claims Bayless stated to her whereas she was giving him a haircut that “he fantasizes about having intercourse along with her and requested how a lot cash it will take for her to have intercourse with him. Bayless supposedly went on to say: “The extra you say no the extra I need you.”
With all that Bayless can be alleged to have accusing Faraji of getting a sexual relationship together 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 obtained 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 rankings after which the cancellation of Undisputed have been stated to be a significant situation – as Faraji notes in her swimsuit. Not lengthy after Bayless’ exit, Faraji herself was fired from FS1 “by eradicating her from the schedule completely, utilizing fabricated enterprise requirements as a pretext.”
“We take these allegations critically and haven’t any additional remark at the moment given this pending litigation,” a Fox spokesperson advised Deadline at the moment. Reps for Bayless didn’t reply to request for remark from Deadline on the allegations. In the event that they do, this publish will probably 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 swimsuit, in addition to Bayless and a lot of Fox Sports activities company entities, Fox higher take this allegations critically.
In her 42-page swimsuit by attorneys Rana Ayazi and Devin Abney, Faraji says that Taylor did nothing to assist her and really advised her to “recover from it” after VP Dixon groped the hair stylist at a 2017 celebration the on-air star was having. The truth is, together with internal workplace intrigue (to place it politely) and escalating alleged affair between Taylor and Dixon and the ability performs over girls the VP gave the impression to be making at FS1,, Communicate co-host Taylor grew to become “romantically concerned” with FS1 colleague Emmanuel Acho in 2020, in response to Faraji – a relationship that she discovered FS1 superiors asking her about time 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, quite a lot 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 girls 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 all the way down to how a lot she may appease Mr. Bayless, and as soon as Mr. Bayless was gone, so was her job.
After the swimsuit grew to become public, a lot of associates of Bayless and others chimed in.
Amongst those that addressed Faraji’s authorized motion was Bayless’ ex-First Take accomplice 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 data 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 reality or harmless, you already know, or guilt to something that I do know nothing about. All I can say, and I don’t suppose it’s against the law to say, is rather like I stated with Jay-Z. The individual that I’ve recognized for 25 years. I’ve by no means seen something like that from that particular person, something near that from that particular person. That’s the identical factor that I’d let you know about Skip Bayless.”
Jay-Z has been accused of raping a 13-year-old woman at a MTV VMAs occasion in 2000 with the a lot accused and at present incarcerated Sean “Diddy” Combs and a but unnamed feminine “Celeb B.” The rap famous person, actual title 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.
Unhealthy Boy Data 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 Might 5 subsequent yr.