Fox News host Eric Bolling was suspended by the network on Saturday, August 5, amid allegations he texted a lewd photo of male genitalia to female colleagues.
“Eric Bolling has been suspended pending the results of an investigation, which is currently underway,” a Fox News spokesperson said in a statement on Saturday afternoon.
Bolling’s show, Cashin’ In, was pulled from the air on Friday night after allegations surfaced in a Huffington Post story that the host sent an unsolicited photo of male genitalia to two female colleagues at Fox Business News and one female colleague at Fox News. The website reports that the incident reportedly happened several years ago and the women said that they did not solicit the text messages and found them deeply upsetting and offensive.
As previously reported, Bolling’s lawyer, Michael J. Bowe, released a statement to the Huffington Post saying that the TV host “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.”
The Huffington Post reported that 12 people confirmed that they’d either seen the photos or had heard about them.
It’s not the first time Bolling has been embroiled in controversy. On The Five in 2014, during a discussion about the first woman fighter pilot from the United Arab Emirates, Bolling asked whether it was more appropriate to say “boobs on the ground” instead of “boots on the ground.”
This sexting scandal is that latest in a slew of sexual harassment allegations made against high-profile Fox News employees.
In July 2016, Fox News Channel chairman and CEO Roger Ailes resigned shortly after former Fox & Friends anchor Gretchen Carlson filed a lawsuit claiming Ailes made unwanted sexual advances toward her. After she filed her suit, several other women made similar claims.
In April, Bill O’Reilly was forced out at Fox News after numerous sexual harassment allegations surfaced.
