Fox News exec Roger Ailes ‘used homophobic slurs’
Ousted Fox News chief Roger Ailes allegedly used homophobic slurs, according to a report.
Ailes was once considered the most influential figure in right-wing politics, having served as a media consultant for Republican presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush.
He resigned from his role as Fox News CEO this month following a number of allegations of sexual harassment, with News Corp’s Rupert Murdoch taking direct control of Fox News.
A CNN Money report raised further questions about Ailes’ conduct, with sources claiming that he used racist and homophobic slurs, describing gay Media Matters founder David Brock as a “faggot”.
The outlet reports of a meeting with Politico CEO Fred Ryan: “Ailes told Ryan what he wanted: He wanted fair coverage from Politico; he wanted the website to take stock of Fox News’ successes, not just its controversies; and he wanted Politico to stop taking talking points from ‘that faggot David Brock’.”
When informed of the alleged slur, Brock simply said: “Why am I not surprised?”.
Brock himself noted previously that Ailes had warned President George H. W. Bush not to wear a short-sleeve shirt because he’d “look like a f**king faggot.”
A representative for Ailes described the claims as “worn out and inaccurate gossip items”.
But media columnist Michael Wolff defended Ailes.
He told CNN: “What Roger says can often be, in polite parlance, inappropriate. But it is also very funny and keenly perceptive.
“This is not just vulgarity or slurs, it’s an original world view – novelistic in a sense. If you haven’t heard it, you’ve missed out on something memorable.
“He’s the Toscanini of inappropriateness.”
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