Skip Bayless and Fox Sports are reunited, although not in a method both social gathering would have hoped for.
The former Undisputed host and the Erik Shanks and Mark Silverman run outlet have been hit with a jury looking for criticism claiming Bayless propositioned a hairstylist at Fox Sports with $1.5 million if she would have intercourse with him.
Characterizing Fox Sports as den of iniquity, the 14-claim January 3 submitting in LA Superior Court additionally alleges that Bayless repeatedly tried to “pressure” plaintiff Noushin Faraji “into having sex with him.”
“Ms. Faraji brings forth this action because for over a decade at Fox, she was forced to endure a misogynistic, racist, and ableist workplace where executives and talent were allowed to physically and verbally abuse workers with impunity,” the sexual battery, retaliation, hostile work setting and fraudulent enterprise practices claiming swimsuit says.
In tones and phrases acquainted to those that have learn previous lawsuits involving sexual harassment and extra that Fox entities and executives have been slapped with over the previous decade, the potential class motion provides: “When Ms. Faraji and others came forward to report the wrongdoing, instead of addressing their concerns, Fox retaliated against them while the perpetrators and those who protected them were inexplicitly promoted. This case thus represents yet another in a long line of cases chronicling the toxic culture at Fox, marked by bad faith promises and repeated failures to address a poisonous and entrenched patriarchy.”
Detailing the July 2021 incidence the place Bayless is alleged to have provided Faraji that $1.5 million to sleep with him, the swimsuit then damningly says: “Approximately one week later, Mr. Bayless made another advance at Ms. Faraji. Ms. Faraji responded: ‘Skip, stop, you have a wife.’ Mr. Bayless responded: ‘Aren’t you Muslim? Doesn’t your dad have three to four wives?’ Ms. Faraji responded that her father was dead, and when Mr. Bayless looked taken aback, she made an excuse to leave.” In 2024, Faraji claims Bayless stated to her whereas she was giving him a haircut that “he fantasizes about having sex with her and asked how much money it would take for her to have sex with him. Bayless supposedly went on to say: “The more you say no the more I want you.”
With all that Bayless can also be alleged to have accusing Faraji of getting a sexual relationship together with his then co-host and “archrival” Shannon Sharpe. An allegation that Faraji says was completely false. Sharpe on Sunday on he and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson’s Nightcap podcast briefly addressed being talked about within the actions by saying : “That ain’t got nothing to do with me.”
Following a number of tense on-air exchanges between Bayless and Sharpe, the latter jumped over to ESPN in June 2023. In August 2024, ex-ESPN host Bayless was pink slipped by FS1 after eight-years. Both sides painted that departure in rosy phrases, however declining scores after which the cancellation of Undisputed have been stated to be a serious problem – as Faraji notes in her swimsuit. Not lengthy after Bayless’ exit, Faraji herself was fired from FS1 “by removing her from the schedule entirely, using fabricated business necessities as a pretext.”
“We take these allegations seriously and have no further comment at this time given this pending litigation,” a Fox spokesperson instructed Deadline right this moment. Reps for Bayless didn’t reply to request for remark from Deadline on the allegations. If they do, this put up shall be up to date.
Truth is, with present Fox Sports host Joy Taylor and FS1 Content VP Charlie Dixon named as defendants within the swimsuit, in addition to Bayless and plenty of Fox Sports company entities, Fox higher take this allegations critically.
In her 42-page swimsuit by attorneys Rana Ayazi and Devin Abney, Faraji says that Taylor did nothing to assist her and truly instructed her to “get over it” after VP Dixon groped the hair stylist at a 2017 party the on-air star was having. In truth, together with internal workplace intrigue (to place it politely) and escalating alleged affair between Taylor and Dixon and the facility performs over girls the VP gave the impression to be making at FS1,, Speak co-host Taylor turned “romantically involved” with FS1 colleague Emmanuel Acho in 2020, in response to Faraji – a relationship that she discovered FS1 superiors asking her about time and again.
All of which, together with Faraji calling out Fox for ”Labor Code violations” and “unfair, unlawful, and fraudulent business practices” in the case of pay, finds the plaintiff looking for class motion certification, quite a lot of unspecified damages and Taylor and Dixon fired.
As the submitting says:
At this level, Ms. Faraji seeks justice. She is aware of that Mr. Dixon used his place of energy to coerce girls into having intercourse with him and used it as justification to grope Ms. Faraji. She is aware of that Mr. Dixon didn’t instantly hearth her (after Ms. Taylor and Ms. Faraji had a falling out) solely to appease Mr. Bayless by offering him with a plaything. Despite Ms. Faraji being a superb hairdresser and constantly being requested by expertise, she was shrunken all the way down to how a lot she may appease Mr. Bayless, and as soon as Mr. Bayless was gone, so was her job.
After the swimsuit turned public, plenty of associates of Bayless and others chimed in.
Among those that addressed Faraji’s authorized motion was Bayless’ ex-First Take associate Stephen A. Smith.
“The Skip Bayless I know has a hard time giving away $15, he’s one of the cheapest people I know,” the discerning NBA sports activities commentator and cultural icon famous on his podcast Monday. “That’s just me. But that doesn’t mean that I have any inside knowledge about any of this, I don’t, I don’t, and I’m not going to get involved.”
Smith went on to say: “I know Skip, and I’m very, very heartbroken that he finds himself in this situation, being accused of these allegations. But I can’t be over the airways being irresponsible and attaching truth or innocent, you know, or guilt to anything that I know nothing about. All I can say, and I don’t think it’s a crime to say, is just like I said with Jay-Z. The person that I’ve known for 25 years. I’ve never seen anything like that from that person, anything close to that from that person. That’s the same thing that I would tell you about Skip Bayless.”
Jay-Z has been accused of raping a 13-year-old woman at a MTV VMAs social gathering in 2000 with the a lot accused and at present incarcerated Sean “Diddy” Combs and a but unnamed feminine “Celebrity B.” The rap celebrity, actual identify Shawn Carter, has vehemently denied the claims and has his lawyer Alex Spiro making an attempt a swath of techniques to get the damning costs dismissed.
Bad Boy Records founder Combs was arrested on September 16 on intercourse trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to interact in prostitution costs. Already behind bars at Brooklyn’s harsh Metropolitan Detention Center and repeatedly denied bail, Combs’ trial is about to begin May 5 subsequent yr.