Longtime sports activities speak present host Skip Bayless made repeated undesirable sexual advances towards a hair stylist who works for Fox Sports, together with providing the girl $1.5 million to have intercourse with him, a lawsuit alleges. lawsuit filed within the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles.
The 42-page lawsuit additionally alleges that “for over a decade at Fox (the hairstylist) was pressured to endure a misogynistic, racist and ableist office the place administration and expertise might bodily and verbally abuse employees with impunity.”
Lawyers for Noushin Faraji are in search of unspecified damages from Bayless, Fox Sports and its guardian firm, Fox Corp. Faraji claims that when she and others reported the misconduct, “Fox retaliated in opposition to them whereas the perpetrators and those that protected them had been inexplicitly promoted. This case due to this fact represents one more in a protracted line of instances that chronicle Fox’s poisonous tradition, characterised by dangerous religion guarantees and repeated failures to handle a toxic patriarchy and rooted.”
Bayless, 73, labored for Fox Sports from 2016 to 2024, when his show “Undisputed” was cancelled after a decline in its scores coincided with the departure of its co-host, former NFL star Shannon Sharpe. Bayless got here to Fox from ESPN, the place he first appeared on “Cold Pizza” in 2004 and finally hosted “First Take” alongside Stephen A. Smith.
Faraji labored at Fox studios in Los Angeles from 2012 till she was fired in 2024 for what the lawsuit says had been “made up” causes. In addition to Bayless, the lawsuit names Fox Sports govt vp Charlie Dixon and Fox host Joy Taylor as defendants.
The lawsuit alleges that Dixon made an undesirable move at Faraji throughout a celebration for Taylor at a Hollywood restaurant in 2017. Faraji instructed Taylor in regards to the episode, however Taylor responded by saying, “recover from it,” noting that “she herself solely had her job due to Mr. Dixon and that Ms. Faraji solely had her job as a result of Ms. Taylor requested her to have it” and “warned that Mr. Dixon may take each away from her,” based on the lawsuit, which particulars Also detailing an ongoing relationship between Dixon and Taylor.
At one level, Bayless requested Faraji to chop his hair as soon as per week within the make-up room. “Soon after starting weekly haircuts, Mr. Bayless started making excuses to the touch Ms. Faraji,” the lawsuit states. “He hugged her for a very long time after each haircut, placing his physique in opposition to hers, urgent in opposition to her breasts. Then he started to kiss her cheeks. Ms. Faraji was uncomfortable with bodily contact and made excuses to depart instantly after having her hair minimize.”
In July 2021, the lawsuit states, Faraji defined to Bayless that he was present process biopsies to find out whether or not he had most cancers. “Mr. Bayless then grabbed her palms, started kissing them and supplied her $1.5 million for intercourse,” based on the lawsuit. “Approximately per week later, Mr. Bayless made one other advance in direction of Ms. Faraji. Mrs. Faraji replied: ‘Jump, cease, you’ve got a spouse’.”
Bayless, who at the moment hosts his personal podcast, “The Skip Bayless Show” on YouTube, married media relations knowledgeable Ernestine Sclafani in 2016. Sclafani wrote a e-book with Bayless, revealed in 2019: “Balls: How to Keep Your Relationship Alive When You Live With a Sports-Obsessed Guy” .
The lawsuit additionally brings forth class motion allegations on behalf of “all non-exempt hourly people who labored for Fox in California through the interval starting 4 years previous to the submitting of this criticism.” The fees embrace failure to pay all hours labored, failure to pay time beyond regulation, failure to reimburse enterprise bills and failure to pay severance pay.
A Fox spokesperson stated of the lawsuit: “We take these allegations critically and haven’t any additional remark right now given this pending litigation.” An electronic mail to Bayless’ consultant was not instantly responded to.
