Fox suspends TV host in probe of lewd text messages

Left to right, Steve Doocy, Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Eric Bolling pose on the set of FOX and Friends at FOX Studios on Nov. 14, 2014 in New York City.  AFP

WASHINGTON, United States — A host on US cable network Fox News has been suspended during an investigation into allegations that he texted unsolicited lewd images to women co-workers, the company said Saturday.

It was the latest sexual harassment case to rock Fox News, America’s most watched cable news channel and a favorite among US conservatives.

“Eric Bolling has been suspended pending the results of an investigation, which is currently under way,” a Fox News spokesperson said in a statement.

The suspension followed a HuffPost report Friday that Bolling sent an image of male genitalia to two colleagues at Fox Business and one at Fox News.

The report, citing multiple anonymous sources in and outside of Fox News and Fox Business, said the messages were sent several years ago, on separate occasions.

Bolling has worked at the network for seven years.

His lawyer Michael Bowe said in a statement to HuffPost: “Mr Bolling recalls no such inappropriate communications, does not believe he sent any such communications, and will vigorously pursue his legal remedies for any false and defamatory accusations that are made.”

Last year, Fox News’s powerful chairman Roger Ailes left the company following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.

And in April, the network parted ways with its star anchor Bill O’Reilly following a flood of sexual harassment accusations that triggered a crash in advertising sales.

Last month, Jamie Horowitz, who oversaw programing for Fox Sports, was abruptly fired in Los Angeles over allegations of misconduct. CBB