Longtime sports talk show host Skip Bayless offered a Fox Sports hairstylist $1.5 million for sex, according to a lawsuit filed in California Superior Court in Los Angeles. It is said that he repeatedly made unwanted sexual advances.
The 42-page lawsuit alleges that “for more than a decade, [the hairstylist] They were forced to endure misogynistic, racist, and ableist workplaces, where executives and personnel were allowed to physically and verbally abuse workers with impunity. ”
Noushin Faraj’s lawyers are seeking unspecified damages from Bayless, Fox Sports and their parent company, Fox. Faraj claims that when the women reported the misconduct, “Fox retaliated against them while the perpetrators and those who defended them were given unspecified promotions.” This incident, therefore, is the latest in a series of incidents documenting a toxic culture at Fox, marked by bad promises and repeated failures to address a toxic and deep-rooted patriarchy. . ”
Bayless, 73, worked at Fox Sports from 2016 to 2024, but due to declining ratings due to the departure of his co-host, former NFL star Shannon Sharpe, he changed his own show, “Andy.” “Spewed” has been canceled. Mr. Bayless joined Fox from ESPN, first appearing on “Cold Pizza” in 2004 and eventually co-hosting “First Take” with Stephen A. Smith.
Faraj had worked at Fox Studios in Los Angeles since 2012, but was fired in 2024 for “fabricated” reasons, according to the lawsuit. In addition to Bayless, the lawsuit also names Fox Sports executive vice president Charlie Dixon and Fox host Joy Taylor as defendants.
The suit alleges that Dixon made an unwanted pass at Faraj during Taylor’s birthday party at a Hollywood restaurant in 2017. Faraj told Taylor about the episode, to which Taylor responded, “No more,” and pointed out that it was “all about herself.” “She had her job because of Mr. Dixon, and Ms. Faraj only had her job because of Mr. Taylor’s request,” the complaint said. “She warned that Mr. Dixon could take both of them away.” The contents are also described in detail. An ongoing affair between Dixon and Taylor.
At one point, Bayless asked Faraj to go to her makeup room once a week to get a haircut. “Soon after the weekly haircuts began, Mr. Bayless began finding excuses to touch Ms. Faraj,” the complaint states. “Every time he got a haircut, he held her forever, pressing his body against hers and pressing her breasts against his. Then he started kissing her on the cheek. Mr. Faraj was physically I felt uncomfortable with the contact, so I excused myself and left right after my haircut.”
In July 2021, Faraj explained to Bayless that she was undergoing a biopsy to determine if she had cancer, according to the complaint. “Mr. Bayless then grabbed her hand, began kissing her, and offered her $1.5 million for sex,” the complaint states. “About a week later, Mr. Bayless re-entered Mr. Faraj. Mr. Faraj replied: ‘No, no, you have a wife.'”
Bayless, who currently hosts his own podcast, “The Skip Bayless Show,” on YouTube, married media relations expert Ernestine Sclafani in 2016. Mr. Sclafani co-authored a book with Mr. Bayless called “Balls: How to Always Stay Relevant,” which was published in 2019. You live with a man who is into sports. ”
The lawsuit also files class action claims on behalf of “all non-exempt hourly workers who worked for Fox in California during the four-year period prior to the filing of this complaint.” The allegations include not being paid for all hours worked, not being paid overtime, not being reimbursed for business expenses, and not being paid severance pay.
A Fox spokesperson said of the lawsuit: “We take these allegations seriously and given the pending litigation, we have no further comment at this time.” An email sent to a representative for Mr. Bayless did not immediately receive a response.
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