Former Fox News boss Roger Ailes hit with another sexual discrimination lawsuit

NEW YORK — Former Fox News chairman Roger Ailes was hit with another sexual discrimination lawsuit Monday, less than a year after being ousted from the network over similar accusations by other female employees.

Julie Roginsky, a current Fox News contributor, alleges that Ailes encouraged her to seek out the company of “older, married, conservative men” because “they may stray but they always come back because they’re loyal," according to the 17-page complaint filed in New York State Supreme Court.

The lawsuit, which names Ailes, Fox News and current Fox co-president Bill Shine, also contends that, after Roginsky rebuffed Ailes' advances, she was denied promotions that included a permanent hosting position on Fox News' The Five.

Ailes attorney Susan Estrich blasted the suit as "total hogwash" and merely a "copycat complaint" from someone "who wants to pile-on in a massive character assassination in order to achieve what she did not accomplish on the merits."

Fox News representatives did not respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit. But the company's new executive vice president of human relations, Kevin Lord, sent a memo Monday reminding staffers they had four points of contact to relay behavioral concerns, according to an internal email provided to USA TODAY and confirmed by Fox News.

"We want to give you every opportunity to be heard through a vehicle of your choice, so that we can attempt to address your concerns promptly and confidentially," Lord wrote, citing as contacts himself, general counsel Dianne Brandi, 21st Century Fox chief compliance officer Gerson Zweifach and Michele Hirshman of the Paul Weiss law firm.

Last September, Fox show host Gretchen Carlson received a $20 million settlement and an apology from her former employer after filing her own lawsuit accusing Ailes of sexual discrimination.

Roginsky's lawsuit comes just days after a New York Times report claiming that Fox News and O'Reilly have doled out $13 million in settlements to five women who complained that Fox star Bill O'Reilly has made inappropriate advances that resulted in career retribution when thwarted.

Two of the settlements were reached after the network purported that it would start stamping out a culture that disrespected women, the report says.

On Monday, Mercedes-Benz announced that ads slated for The O'Reilly Factor have been "reassigned in the midst of this controversy," said Donna Boland, manager of corporate communications at Mercedes-Benz.

"The allegations are disturbing and, given the importance of women in every aspect of our business, we don't feel this is a good environment in which to advertise our products right now," she said.

When Fox News apologized to Carlson, the company admitted the on-air star "was not treated with the respect that she and all our colleagues deserve." While Fox vowed to root out sexism in its ranks, the latest lawsuit suggests the issue still festers.

Roginsky's complaint states that, beginning in early 2015, after four consecutive years as a Fox News contributor, she began meeting with Ailes, who complimented her work but also asked detailed questions about why she was not dating.

"Ailes insisted on a kiss 'hello' but would not get out of his chair, using the occasion of Roginsky bending over to look down her dress," the complaint states. "At these meetings Ailes also made crude sexual comments about other female on-air talent."

In April 2015, Ailes suggested Roginsky rendezvous with him in his office, since he thought being seen together in public "would get us both in trouble." Roginsky refused. Ailes never met with her again, and her promised slot hosting The Five went to Geraldo Rivera, the complaint says.

Some of the more bizarre allegations made in the complaint include Roginsky's contention that current Fox co-president Shine asked if she had watched a Showtime documentary about the band The Eagles. Roginsky said she had not.

"Shine once again recommended it, somehow expressing the belief that Ailes, a habitual sexual harasser, and his enablers, were a gift to the nation, like The Eagles," the document says.

Roginsky is looking for compensatory and punitive damages in a jury trial, because she is not bound by common employee-signed agreements that mandate such matters be settled by binding arbitration.

“We look forward to a public trial in front of a jury in New York City,” Roginsky attorney Nancy Erika Smith of Smith Mullin said in a statement.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Marco della Cava on Twitter.