Kimberly Guilfoyle’s former assistant reportedly paid $4m by Fox News after sexual harassment accusations

Ms Guilfoyle abruptly left network years before end of contract and joined Trump campaign

Fox News paid the former assistant to Kimberly Guilfoyle approximately $4m after she drafted a complaint alleging sexual harassment against her former boss, The New Yorker reports.

Citing multiple sources, the magazine’s reporting builds on stories surrounding Ms Guilfoyle’s abrupt departure from the network in 2018.

Now finance chair of the Trump campaign and in a relationship with Donald Trump Jr, Ms Guilfoyle was once co-host of The Five. She left the network in July 2018 with Fox News only providing a one-sentence statement saying that it had parted ways with her.

In November 2018, HuffPost reported that her exit came after an investigation into inappropriate behaviour and allegations of sexual misconduct.

An attorney for Ms Guilfoyle described the allegations as “unequivocally baseless and have been viciously made by disgruntled and self-interested employees”.

The New Yorker’s reporting includes detailed accusations from the former assistant but does not identify her out of respect for her wishes and those of potential victims of sexual harassment.

While Ms Guilfoyle maintains that leaving Fox News was by choice, the magazine reports that she was forced out years before her contract’s expiration date.

The draft complaint was never filed in court and is covered by a nondisclosure agreement, but “well-informed sources” alleged to The New Yorker that the assistant was frequently subjected to “degrading, abusive, and sexually inappropriate behavior”.

She was also often required to work at Ms Guilfoyle’s New York apartment while the Fox host was naked, and she was shown photographs of the genitalia of men with whom her boss had had sexual relations, it has been alleged. 

Ms Guilfoyle also reportedly told her to submit to the sexual advances of a Fox employee and encouraged her to sleep with wealthy and powerful men.

When the law firm Paul, Weiss was investigating harassment and discrimination at the network under Roger Ailes, the complaint alleges that Ms Guilfoyle tried to “buy her silence”, The New Yorker reports.

The Independent contacted both Fox News and Ms Guilfoyle’s attorney for comment.

In a statement to the magazine, Ms Guilfoyle says: “In my 30-year career working for the SF District Attorney’s Office, the LA District Attorney’s Office, in media and in politics, I have never engaged in any workplace misconduct of any kind. During my career, I have served as a mentor to countless women, with many of whom I remain exceptionally close to this day.”