Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle left the network Tuesday to campaign for President Trump with her new boyfriend, Donald Trump Jr., the official story went. In reality, Guilfoyle was shown the door after an investigation into abusive behavior, a new report says.
Guilfoyle was told she had to leave the network after a human-resources investigation found that she had showed personal photographs of male genitalia to colleagues, regularly discussed sexual matters at work and engaged in emotionally abusive behavior toward support staff, reports HuffPost in a story based on interviews with 21 sources.
Fox gave Guilfoyle time to find a new job she could announce and she was not formally terminated, HuffPost says.
On Tuesday, Guilfoyle said she was leaving to become vice chairwoman of the America Action First, a Super PAC which bills itself as “the primary super PAC dedicated to electing federal candidates who support the agenda of the Trump-Pence administration.” The move raised eyebrows because Guilfoyle, who joined Fox in 2006 and is a favorite of President Trump, is one of the network’s main stars as host of “The Five.” In response to long-swirling rumors that she would join the Trump administration’s press office, Guilfoyle said that as a single mother she needed the lucrative Fox gig.
Guilfoyle and Trump Jr. recently became public about their relationship on Instagram. Donald Trump Jr. and his wife, Vanessa, announced they were divorcing in March. Guilfoyle was previously married to then-mayor of San Francisco Gavin Newsom from 2001 to 2006.
Guilfoyle’s attorney John Singer denied the allegations. “Any accusations of Kimberly engaging in inappropriate work-place conduct are unequivocally baseless and have been viciously made by disgruntled and self-interested employees,” he said in a statement. “During her lengthy and decorated tenure with the company, Kimberly was beloved, well-respected, and supportive of anyone she ever met. It’s utterly preposterous that there are those who are nefariously and greedily twisting innocent conversations amongst close friends into much more than what it actually was for financial gain. Kimberly has happily moved onto the next chapter of her life and hopes others will do the same.”
Under former Fox News chief Roger Ailes, sexual harassment was rampant at the network. After Ailes was fired, network officials tried to clean up the culture. But Guilfoyle continued to behave in the style of the previous regime and was repeatedly warned about her behavior, including by the head of Fox News HR in fall 2017, HuffPost reports.
Ironically, Bill Shine, the Fox News vice president who resigned in 2017 amid accusations he covered up sexual harassment at the network, began his new gig as White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications last week.
