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Gretchen Carlson Will Return to TV With Documentary Specials

Gretchen Carlson speaks Women at the Top: Female Empowerment in Media Panel at the 2016 Greenwich International Film Festival / Getty Images
April 24, 2018

Former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson is returning to TV with a new series of documentary specials on A&E Networks.

The series marks Carlson's first television venture since leaving Fox News in 2016 after accusing then-Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes of sexual harassment. At least one of the specials will focus on Carlson's efforts to shine a light on workplace sexual harassment, Politico reports.

"It has now been confirmed that our voices are amplified and actually get heard when we stand together, and I am proud to partner with Lifetime to make change happen by presenting the heartbreaking, but previously untold, stories of everyday working women," Carlson said in a statement.

The first special, "The Brave with Gretchen Carlson," will focus on how Carlson's actions to confront sexual harassment and her lawsuit against Fox News served as a "catalyst for so many other women to say #MeToo," according to an A&E press release.

In her lawsuit, Carlson alleged Ailes sexually harassed her and threatened to terminate her contract with the network in retaliation.

Since leaving Fox News, Carlson has advocated for women who experience sexual harassment at work. She also was named chairwoman of the Miss America Organization after a scandal where leadership in the organization insulted the appearance, intellect, and sex lives of past winners. Politico reports:

The former Fox News host was an early and influential force in the #MeToo movement, among the first prominent women to speak out over the past of couple years about allegations of sexual misconduct against powerful men. She has since become an outspoken advocate for women who endure harassment in the workplace.

In recent months, Carlson has lobbied lawmakers in Congress in favor of legislation to eliminate forced-arbitration clauses for government employees that advocacy groups say stop women from speaking out about sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the workplace.

Carlson's series will be developed by A&E Originals, the network’s new nonfiction content development arm producing content for Lifetime, A&E Network, and History.

Published under: Media , Sexual Harassment