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The Dominion Voting Systems defamation case against Fox News was already a serious problem for the network, but a former Fox producer named Abby Grossberg added a new wrinkle to the network’s troubles by filing her own litigation in March.
The Dominion case was resolved with a $787.5 million settlement in April, and two months later, as NBC News reported, Fox has now reached an agreement with Grossberg, too.
[Grossberg] settled a pair of lawsuits against the network and Carlson for $12 million, her attorney said Friday. ... “While I stand by my publicly filed claims and allegations, in light of today’s settlement of $12 million, pursuant to which I have now withdrawn those claims, I am heartened that Fox News has taken me and my legal claims seriously. I am hopeful, based on our discussions with Fox News today, that this resolution represents a positive step by the Network regarding its treatment of women and minorities in the workplace,” [Grossberg said in a written statement].
In case anyone needs a refresher, let’s revisit our coverage from a few months ago and review how we arrived at this point.
Grossberg, who worked for Tucker Carlson and Maria Bartiromo, alleged in March that she not only saw a “toxic” workplace culture at Fox News that included misogyny and discrimination, the producer also claimed that the network’s lawyers “coerced, intimidated, and misinformed” her as they prepared her to testify in the Dominion defamation case.
Fox News denied her claims, calling the allegations “baseless.” Her lawyers nevertheless said that Grossberg was concerned about having given “false/misleading and evasive answers” during her deposition following prep sessions with Fox’s legal team.
She was fired soon after.
As NBC News’ report added, Grossberg was “an active character” in the Dominion litigation: “Her deposition and emails were released amid thousands of pages of evidence made public during the court proceedings.” Indeed, when a judge sanctioned Fox News for withholding evidence, it was because of revelations from the producer.
I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to suggest that Grossberg’s concerns contributed, not only to the settlement with Dominion, but also to Fox’s decision to part ways with Carlson.
With this in mind, perhaps it's not too surprising that the network settled with Grossberg, in the hopes of putting its post-election mess behind it.
Grossberg sat down with MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace in April to discuss her experiences.
As for the network, a Fox News issued a statement today that said, “We are pleased that we have been able to resolve this matter without further litigation.”
Speaking of further litigation, a separate lawsuit, filed by Smartmatic — another voting technology company — is still pending. Like the Dominion case, Smartmatic is suing Fox for $2.7 billion stemming from the network’s controversial coverage of the 2020 presidential election and its aftermath.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.