Fox Business host Charles Payne suspended after sexual harassment accusations

Fox Business Network host Charles Payne has been suspended while Fox investigates sexual harassment allegations made against him, the company confirmed Thursday night.

“We take issues of this nature extremely seriously and have a zero-tolerance policy for any professional misconduct,” a Fox Business Network representative said in a statement. “This matter is being thoroughly investigated and we are taking all of the appropriate steps to reach a resolution in a timely manner.”

Payne, who hosts “Making Money” on the network and appears on various other programs, has acknowledged what he described as a three-year “romantic relationship” with a married female political analyst who frequently appeared on Fox Business Network and Fox News Channel from 2013 to 2016. Payne admitted to the extramarital affair in a statement to the National Enquirer published Wednesday that included an apology to his wife, children and friends.

Attorney Neal Korval told the Los Angeles Times his client denies any act of sexual harassment against the woman.

His accuser and other woman is Conservative analyst Scottie Nell Hughes.

The Los Angeles Times was the first to report that an analyst who used to appear on the network had accused Payne of sexual harassment, but the paper did not name the accuser. The network has suspended Payne pending further investigation, according to a source familiar with the matter.

(According to this) Hughes told several sources that she feels that Payne, the network and Bill Shine ― then co-president of Fox News and Fox Business ― retaliated against her after they learned of the relationship, which would be the basis for her sexual harassment claim.

h/t Business Insider