Fox News Fires Producer Who Filed Lawsuit Over Dominion Testimony

Fox News has fired a producer who filed a lawsuit against the network in which she claimed that she was coached and coerced by the network’s lawyers to give misleading deposition testimony in the defense against Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit.

The network confirmed that she was dismissed. Fox News contends that she failed to protect privileged company information in her lawsuit.

More from Deadline

• Fox And Dominion Attorneys Wrap Up Arguments In Defamation Hearing, But No Ruling Yet From Judge - Update

• Fox News Producer Sues Network Claiming She Was Coached To Give Misleading Testimony In Dominion Case

• Rupert Murdoch On Getting Engaged Again: "I Knew This Would Be My Last. It Better Be."

In her lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in New York and Delaware Superior Court on Monday, Abby Grossberg’s attorneys said that she had been put on forced administrative leave, calling it a “blatant display of unlawful retaliation.” They also claimed the network retaliated against her after she complained about unlawful harassment based on her gender and Jewish religion.

In a statement, Fox News said, “Like most organizations, Fox News Media’s attorneys engage in privileged communications with our employees as necessary to provide legal advice. Last week, our attorneys advised Ms. Grossberg that, while she was free to file whatever legal claims she wished, she was in possession of our privileged information and was not authorized to disclose it publicly. We were clear that if she violated our instructions, Fox would take appropriate action including termination. Ms. Grossberg ignored these communications and chose to file her complaint without taking any steps to protect those portions containing Fox’s privileged information. We will continue to vigorously defend Fox against Ms. Grossberg’s unmeritorious legal claims, which are riddled with false allegations against Fox and our employees.” Variety first reported on her termination.

Grossberg has worked on shows hosted by Maria Bartiromo and Tucker Carlson, two figures who figure prominently in Dominion’s lawsuit against the network. She claimed that as she faced a deposition in the Dominion case, the network’s attorneys were trying to subtly shift “all responsibility for the alleged defamation against Dominion onto her shoulders and by implication, those of her trusted female colleague, Ms. Bartiromo, rather than the mostly male higher ups at Fox News who endorsed the repeated coverage of the lies against the Dominion.”