Roger Ailes Sought ‘Sexual Alliance,’ Says Female TV Exec

Former “Good Morning America” executive producer Shelley Ross is the latest woman to accuse ex-Fox News boss Roger Ailes of sexual harassment, saying he once told her the best form of loyalty is a “sexual alliance.”

Ross wrote a first-person account of the treatment she received from Ailes for The Daily Beast, in which she detailed being recruited to New York in 1981 to work for Ailes when he was in charge of NBC’s “The Tomorrow Show.”

“When did you first discover you were sexy?” Ailes once asked, according to Ross. She denied his advances, but said he was “very persistent” and believed “the best expression of that loyalty comes in the form of a ‘sexual alliance.'”

Also Read: Roger Ailes Spent Fox Money to Wage Secret Campaigns Against Foes

“This was not a romantic or flirtatious conversation. ‘Predatory’ is not quite accurate either. Roger expressed a true philosophical conviction that this would be mutually beneficial for us both, that he was looking for a partnership and it was somewhat special that he had chosen me. So perhaps ‘cultish’ needs to be in the mix,” Ross wrote. “Whatever it was, I now suspect that this is the job I turned down a decade before Laurie Luhn came along.”

Luhn is a former Fox News booker who recently told New York magazine that she endured over 20 years of “psychological torture” and sexual harassment from Ailes. Ross detailed a back-and-fourth conversation with Ailes about how their “sexual alliance” would work.

“I’d never date a boss, and besides, we hardly know each other. We don’t know if we’d even like each other outside of the work environment,” Ross wrote that she told Ailes.

Also Read: Former Fox News Booker Says Roger Ailes Caused 20 Years of 'Psychological Torture'

“Oh, if it’s time you need, just say so,” he replied, according to Ross.

“This unnerved me greatly. Why couldn’t I deflect this? I took a Valium and crumpled under the covers. I had already laid the groundwork to sublet my L.A. apartment, arrange for someone to look after my car, and worst of all, I had announced to my friends and family I was moving to New York,” Ross wrote. “I felt truly vulnerable for the first time.”

After Ross complained and Ailes received a lecture from NBC lawyers, he said he was single and thought being unmarried made it OK. Ailes then flew her back to New York and continued to recruit her for the job. The two spoke, and Ross believed Ailes was genuinely sorry for his sexual advances.

“So back to Roger’s expression ‘sexual alliance.’ I hope this is not the phrase that’s pulled into the headlines just because it sounds creepy enough to go viral. There’s a lot more to this story and a lot more to Roger Ailes — who cannot be painted with one simple brushstroke,” Ross wrote.

Also Read: Roger Ailes' $500,000 Donation to Senior Citizen Center Rejected by 400 Angry Residents

She said sexual harassment has “many faces, genders and legions of enablers.”

“You can’t just have one villain, not even Roger Ailes. For 30 years I have witnessed a pervasive culture populated by more than a few morally repugnant executives and those who kept their jobs by not making waves around them,” Ross wrote.

Ross said, “Fox News should take the lead in a kind of sexual harassment Truth and Reconciliation project” and offered to help organize it.

Read Ross’ entire Daily Beast post here.

Roger Ailes' Career Evolution: From 'The Mike Douglas Show' to Fox News (Photos)

• The television executive has evolved from producing a talk-variety show to running one of the biggest satellite news television channel in the U.S.

  Fox News

• Born and raised in Ohio, Roger Ailes attended Ohio University as a young man, majoring in radio and television. During his time there, he served as station manager for the university's WOUB radio for two years.

  Ohio University

• Ailes worked his way up to executive producer on the syndicated daytime talk show "The Mike Douglas Show," which began as a local program in Cleveland before expanding nationwide.

  Westinghouse Broadcasting Company

• In 1968, Ailes got an Emmy nod when "The Mike Douglas Show" was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Daytime Programming, ultimately losing to NBC's "Today" show.

• After first meeting Richard Nixon on the set of "The Mike Douglas Show," Ailes was hired by the then-presidential candidate to be his media advisor during the campaign, which marked his first professional foray into politics.

• Ailes continued consulting on presidential campaigns, serving as media consultant for three successful Republicans: Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

• Ailes produced the famous "revolving door" ad for Bush, which painted Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis as soft on crime. The piece was widely regarded as the most influential ad of the political cycle.

• In 1988, Ailes co-authored a self-help book with Jon Kraushar. "You Are the Message" shared Ailes' tips for effective communication and public performances.

  Simon and Schuster

• In 1992, Ailes served as executive producer on a syndicated late-night talk show hosted by right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh, which ran for four years before coming to an end in 1996.

  Ailes Productions

• Ailes was named president of CNBC in 1993, where he launched the new cable network America's Talking, which was shut down and replaced with future Fox News competitor MSNBC.

  America's Talking

• Media mogul Rupert Murdoch hired Ailes to serve as founding CEO and Chariman of the Fox News Channel in 1996, which soon grew to become the most popular cable news network in the country.

  Getty Images

• In 2016, Ailes was accused of sexual harassment by ousted Fox News host Gretchen Carlson. In July, Carlson filed a lawsuit against Ailes, claiming years of inappropriate behavior and sexual advances.

  Getty Images

• As sexual harassment allegations continued to mount against Ailes, reports soon began to surface that Ailes had begun negotiating his departure from the 21st Century Fox-owned cable news channel.

  Getty Images

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Having begun as a producer on a daytime show, the Ohio native went on to become the cable news network boss before being hit with sexual harassment allegations

The television executive has evolved from producing a talk-variety show to running one of the biggest satellite news television channel in the U.S.

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