Fox Sports has hit a snag in its defense of the bombshell workplace misconduct lawsuit filed by a former hairstylist earlier this year.
A court filing submitted to the Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday denied Fox’s motion to move the workplace misconduct lawsuit to federal court. Instead, the case will be heard in the Los Angeles Superior Court, where the original lawsuit was filed.
The suit, brought by former Fox Sports hairstylist Noushin Faraji, alleged widespread workplace misconduct at the network. Specifically, Faraji named former FS1 host Skip Bayless, current FS1 host Joy Taylor, and Fox Sports executive Charlie Dixon as defendants in the lawsuit and perpetrators of a toxic work environment.
Among the most shocking accusations, Faraji claims Bayless propositioned to pay her $1.5 million for sex, Taylor discriminated against her on the basis of ethnicity, and Dixon touched her inappropriately at a party.
However, Faraji’s original lawsuit also included less salacious accusations, including claims that Fox failed to provide proper overtime compensation. Fox used these allegations to attempt to move the case to federal court, which the network presumably saw as a more favorable jurisdiction for the case.
According to Monday’s filing, Faraji’s team has amended their original suit to remove these accusations from the complaint, making Fox’s motion to move the case to federal court moot.
Concurrently, Fox is also dealing with a separate lawsuit filed by former FS1 talent Julie Stewart-Binks, who came forward with similar allegations of sexual misconduct shortly after Faraji’s lawsuit was filed.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.