Sports firebrand on television for a long time A complaint filed by a former Fox Sports hairstylist accuses Skip Bayless of repeatedly making unwanted sexual advances and offering $1.5 million in exchange for sex.
Bayless, who was a Fox Sports host at the time, is accused in the lawsuit, which was filed in Los Angeles on Friday, of attempting to coerce plaintiff Noushin Faraji into having sex, including reportedly promising her $1.5 million for sex after she disclosed to him that she had experienced a cancer scare in 2021.
Front Office Sports was the first to report on the case.
People who have publicly identified themselves, as Faraji has done in the lawsuit, are usually not identified by NBC News when they are accused of sexual misconduct.
“We take these allegations seriously and have no further comment at this time given this pending litigation,” Fox Sports stated in a statement.
An email and text message requesting comment on Monday were not immediately answered by a Bayless lawyer.
Popular anchor Joy Taylor is also named in the case, where she is accused of advising the plaintiff to move on after Fox Sports 1 executive Charlie Dixon reportedly touched her at a party. Requests for comment on Monday were not immediately answered by Taylor or Dixon.
According to the lawsuit, Faraji, who was employed by Fox from 2012 until her termination in 2024, first part-time and then full-time, started working with Bayless in late 2016 when he was co-hosting the program Undisputed after he asked her to fix his hair. The show’s moderator was Taylor.
The suit claims that shortly after Bayless started asking for weekly haircuts, he started making inappropriate physical contact with Faraji by pressing his body against hers and pressing against her breasts. According to the lawsuit, that escalated into indecent remarks, such as calling Faraji “voluptuous,” and cheek kisses.
At that point, Mr. Bayless became more assertive and straightforward in his approaches. According to the lawsuit, Ms. Faraji consistently refused, claiming that she required her employment as a single mother and did not date while working.
According to the lawsuit, after talking it over with a coworker, both of them concluded that it would be harmful to report the matter because Fox shielded influential men.
As a single mother who depended on her job to maintain her kid, Ms. Faraji felt she had no choice but to show kindness to Bayless or risk losing her job, according to the lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, Bayless persisted in making sexual advances over the years, which Faraji would reject by bringing up her kid, shifting the topic, or cracking jokes.
After learning that there might be cancer in one of her ovaries, Faraji reportedly notified Bayless about the problem in 2021 in the hopes that he would feel sorry for her and stop making approaches. According to the lawsuit, Bayless instead promised her $1.5 million to have sex with him, said he wanted to be with her, and started kissing her hands.
According to the lawsuit, Faraji made a reason for his departure.
Before leaving the network in June 2024, Bayless reportedly told Faraji that he fantasized about having sex with her and asked how much money it would take for her to agree. Faraji allegedly replied that she had already turned down his offer of $1.5 million and that her response would not change.
According to the suit, Bayless retorted, “The more you say no, the more I want you.”
According to the lawsuit, Faraji and Taylor became acquainted in March 2016 after Taylor relocated from Miami to Los Angeles.
According to the lawsuit, Dixon, who had allegedly been drinking excessively, put his arm on Faraji’s lower back at a Taylor birthday celebration in January 2017 before massaging her body and squeezing her buttocks. According to the lawsuit, Faraji told Taylor what had allegedly happened and then pretended to phone to get out of the situation.
Ms. Taylor surprisingly replied to get over it, explaining that Ms. Faraji only had her job because Ms. Taylor asked her to, the filing claims, and that she herself only had her employment because of Mr. Dixon. Mr. Dixon might take both away, she warned.
According to the lawsuit, Faraji was also counseled to remain silent by another coworker.
According to the lawsuit, Ms. Faraji is now seeking justice. She is aware that Mr. Dixon coerced women into having sex with him by using his position of authority, and he used this as an excuse to harass Ms. Faraji.
Along with carelessness, retribution, and wrongful termination, the lawsuit also claims a hostile work environment based on sex, race or national origin, and handicap.
According to the lawsuit, Taylor started making personal and professional insults to the plaintiff, who is of Iranian heritage, after Faraji and Taylor’s friendship allegedly terminated in late 2021.
According to the lawsuit, Taylor started publicly making fun of Ms. Faraji’s English in 2023 and alleging that she was humming as a coping method for her PTSD.
According to the lawsuit, Faraji was dismissed with a bogus excuse shortly after Bayless departed the network.
According to the lawsuit, Ms. Faraji was limited to how much she could please Mr. Bayless, even though she was a fantastic hairdresser and was frequently asked for by talent. Once Mr. Bayless left, her position was also gone.
The Skip Bayless Show podcast is presently hosted by Bayless, who departed Fox Sports last year. At the moment, Taylor is the host of the FS1 program Speak.
Through a jury trial, the plaintiff is requesting attorneys’ fees, punitive damages, emotional damages, compensatory damages, and equitable damages.
Class-action claims are also included in the lawsuit, which alleges that Fox employees were not reimbursed for business expenditures, paid overtime, or paid for all of their labor.
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