Fired Fox News Host Ed Henry Files Multiple Defamation Lawsuits

Ed Henry, former Fox News Host who was fired from the right-wing news network in 2020 has filed multiple defamation lawsuits. Henry, who was fired in light of a sexual misconduct allegation, has sued not only the network but also its chief executive Suzanne Scott, as well as commentators from NPR and CNN. 

According to the lawsuit, Scott “publicly smeared” Henry. The lawsuit also claims that the chief executive was involved in a cover-up of other sexual misconduct cases in Rupert Murdoch’s companies. Henry’s firing was a way of diverting attention from “Ms. Scott’s long history of covering up actual misconduct.”

While Henry filed the lawsuit against Fox on June 30, a day later, National Public Radio’s David Folkenflik and CNN’s Alisyn Camerota and Brian Stelter (as well as Turner Broadcasting) were named for their alleged defamatory commentary and reporting on his firing. 

One of the new complaints stated that the three commentators have “longstanding grudges against Fox News and/or individuals associated with the company” that led them to repeat false allegations about why Henry was let go from the network. The lawsuit asserts that Folkenflik, Camerota, and Stelter acted with malice towards the former host by making false statements about him either intentionally or recklessly. 

In addition, there’s a complaint that names some small websites and Twitter users that repeated the allegations. Thrive Media, which published a piece by Jennifer Eckhart, who made the original misconduct allegations against Henry, has also been named. Henry has strongly denied Eckhart’s allegations. 

While CNN refrained from commenting on Henry’s lawsuit, Isabel Lara, executive director of communications at NPR, issued a statement saying, “NPR stands behind David Folkenflik’s reporting and will vigorously defend it against this meritless claim. Millions of Americans trust NPR to provide accurate information about the world and their communities every day; we take this responsibility very seriously.”