Fox News Contributor Claims Host Charles Payne Raped Her And Pressured Her Into An Affair
Fox Business Host Charles Payne Accused Of Sexual Assault
Fox Business Host Charles Payne is under fire today as a former Fox contributor is accusing him of sexual assault.
37-year-old Scottie Nell Hughes claims that she was coerced into a two-year extramarital affair with Payne, prompted by a sexual assault he committed inside her hotel room in July 2013.
Scottie, who is also married, says the 56-year-old host frequently held the prospect of getting her fired from Fox News over her head to get his way with her. She has accused him of sexual harassment in the past, but a new lawsuit filing on Monday is the first mention of a sexual assault.
According to Daily Mail, Hughes claims that the two began working together as contributors on Hannity, but it wasn’t long before Payne sought ways to get closer to her.
Payne offered to mentor Hughes in the months afterward, and around July 9, Payne began pressuring her to give him her hotel room number over several hours.
She relented and agreed to a private conversation with him that night, the suit claims, but when he came to her room he began to sexually assault her, saying ‘You know you want this.’
‘You’ve been teasing me since that first time on set, wearing those short dresses over those long legs with your big boobs hanging out,’ he allegedly said.
Despite Hughes repeatedly telling Payne ‘no,’ he continued and she stopped fighting back, fearing ‘irreparable physical harm,’ the suit claims.
‘After he raped her, Payne disturbingly announced on his way out, “This changes things.”‘ the suit says.
In the years following the incident, Hughes says Payne repeatedly pressured her into an ongoing sexual affair, telling her that she needed a man at Fox News to “got to bat” for her at the network — especially if she wanted to get promoted to a full-time contributor position and get paid for her appearances, rather than commenting for free as she had been doing for years.
SMH. We are not ones to victim blame over here by ANY means. But something seems off about being blackmailed into an affair, all to keep what is essentially a volunteer position…doesn’t it? But given how it goes down at that Network…it may not be all that far fetched.
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Source: Fox News Contributor Claims Host Charles Payne Raped Her And Pressured Her Into An Affair
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