Fox News host Shepard Smith name-dropped the late Roger Ailes during a discussion on his show about sexual misconduct controversies.
The mention of the former Fox News chairman and CEO happened on Smith’s afternoon show on Fox News, “Shepard Smith Reporting,” while discussing newly revealed allegations of sexual assault against Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn.
“Congress has had its own sexual scandals of one sort of another for a long time,” said John Bussey, a Wall Street Journal associate editor and Fox News contributor. The public at this stage, the tolerance of these things which has never been high is even lower now. That’s after [Hollywood producer] Harvey Weinstein, that’s the other sexual harassment —”
Smith interjected, saying, “After Roger Ailes and many others.”
Bussey appeared someone caught off guard, lowering his head for a moment, before saying, “Exactly.”
Whoa.
John Bussey: Tolerance is lower “after Harvey Weinstein, after the other sexual harassment…”
Shep Smith: “After Roger Ailes and many others.” pic.twitter.com/nqNgzxxKMz— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) November 16, 2017
“The tolerance is lowering — this sort of frat house, frat boy, Al Franken behavior, the tolerance is getting to the point where there’s a pretty clear line that you simply can’t step across,” Bussey continued. “It will open up all sorts of relooks at the behavior of Congress as well as behavior within business.”
Ailes was ousted as head of Fox News last summer amid a swirl of sexual harassment allegations. He died in May, after which Smith teared up on air explaining his “complicated” relationship with Ailes. “The accusations were mortifying,” Smith said at the time.
Smith’s mention of Ailes on Thursday follows Smith early this week critiquing and offering a case to debunk the controversy, perpetuated by President Trump and heavily covered by Fox News, about a uranium deal involving Hillary Clinton. Smith calling Trump’s claims against Clinton “inaccurate” upset many Fox News viewers.
