We can reserve judgment on the sexual harassment claims that spilled out Monday night against several current and former men of Fox News, but let’s quickly look at the accusation lobbed at Tucker Carlson and decide now that it would be shocking to find a single person who takes it seriously.
I was wondering just a couple weeks ago how long it would be before Carlson got #MeToo’d. Here’s the answer.
Cathy Areu, whom I have seen on TV before but whose credentials I know nothing about (though her Twitter bio says she hosts a podcast), says in a new lawsuit that she was sexually harassed by multiple men at Fox News, including prime-time hosts Carlson and Sean Hannity.
Areu was not an employee at Fox and was not under contract, but her lawsuit asserts that she basically functioned as one, given that she was frequently booked as a guest. (How’s that for a new definition of “employee”? Google News often links to my work, so I guess that makes me more or less staff at the Silicon Valley tech giant.)
The suit alleges, according to CNBC, that after a December 2018 appearance on Carlson’s show while in New York, Carlson made sexual advances toward Areu.
“Following the show, Mr. Carlson, hardly making any effort to hide his intentions, began telling Ms. Areu that he would be alone in New York City that night, and specifically said that he would be staying alone in his hotel room without any wife or kids,” the suit said, according to CNBC. “Without question, Mr. Carlson was probing to see whether Ms. Areu was interested in a sexual relationship. Ms. Areu awkwardly sidestepped Mr. Carlson’s advances and declined to spend the night at his hotel.”
The suit then complained that Carlson “promptly retaliated against Ms. Areu, who was featured on his show only three times in 2019 and has not appeared once in 2020.”
That’s it. That’s the sexual harassment.
Carlson, according to Areu’s own account, said nothing about sex, but in her mind, she believed he was inviting her to his room. Or, perhaps, not even that. He was “probing to see” if she was “interested in a sexual relationship,” all while not having ever mentioned sex.
And the consequence of the alleged encounter with Carlson is that her invitations to appear on his show, on a network she was never employed by, dried up.
I understand that in this scenario, Areu might be upset that she no longer had a platform to hock her podcast and build up her recognition, but where did the “harassment” come in? There’s no claim that Carlson touched her. He didn’t talk about sex, according to her own account. There wasn’t even an explicit invite to spend time with him, and that’s assuming her version is even true.
But she wasn’t able to get on his highly rated show anymore! Well, that happens to guests sometimes, particularly if they don’t have anything interesting to say.
Maybe Areu has a case against the other Fox News people. We’ll have to see. But as far as anyone can see now, her claims against Carlson are nothing but laughable.
