Following in Geraldo Rivera’s footsteps, Greta Van Susteren has issued her own statement recanting her previous support for Roger Ailes when he was accused of sexually harassing Gretchen Carlson. Unlike Rivera, Van Susteren was more defiant than apologetic.
Today Van Susteren wrote on Facebook:
I read Geraldo’s FB post in which he said he regretted not believing Gretchen Carlson’s claim of sexual harassment.
We all regret it - I made my regret self evident in my GretaWire posting about 3 weeks ago which ended with this: “Gretchen, you go girl.” That said it all.
Well, not really.
That GretaWire post was written on August 27, 2016, after Ailes was ousted from Fox and it was clear that Carlson’s complaint was far from a one-off. Yet Van Susteren’s “regret” sounded a lot more like “Don’t blame me, blame Carlson.” For example, Van Susteren wrote about the one time she ever talked to Carlson about Fox:
She was unhappy that she was not getting air time – not sexual harassment – and because she bent my ear about it for such a long time is the only reason I know remember it.
[…]
Her sexual allegations, as best I can now figure out, occurred after that date of that drink – but I am not sure. If it had occurred before, I wish she had said something to me about sexual harassment because I certainly would have given her guidance.
Did Van Susteren regret not thinking twice or doing some investigation before she repeatedly told the media that Carlson’s suit “was wrong” and “sort of a weird thing that she’s done?” No, Van Susteren thought she was the one who deserved an apology:
I would like an apology from some – not all but some – women who knew about sexual harassment in the workplace years ago but did not slip an anonymous source note under the door of HR (yes anonymous without sufficient data to identify themselves.) That anonymous note might have prevented this from happening to other women, including Gretchen.
Actually, there have been reports that several women went to Human Resources about the harassment and it was either ignored or covered up.
Van Susteren did express some support for Carlson in the August GretaWire post but I doubt she felt wildly supported by it:
PS ‘Gretchen, you go girl.’ She KNEW about it and SPOKE up. She had the courage. She did not sit silent. I have no idea what did or did not happen. I have no idea what will happen or not happen with her lawsuit.
Today’s Facebook post strikes the same note. Van Susteren again defends her statements about Carlson’s lawsuit, calling it “inconsistent with what was my experience and information at the Fox News Channel, admittedly working 200 miles from the ‘scene of the crimes.’” She offers no apology for shooting from the hip from such a distance.
Then Van Susteren blames Ailes’ supervisors:
I regret that Roger Ailes was not supervised by those in a public corporation who had the duty to supervise him. This included his seniors, the CFO’s of both Fox News Channel and 21CF (and its predecessor NewsCorp), the Board of Directors and what I assume this public corporation had, outside auditors. Checks written that were suspicious should have been spotted.
Once again, I don’t mean to vilify Van Susteren who probably thought she was doing the right thing by standing up for her then-boss who, she presumably thought, had been wrongfully accused. But just like her sycophantic coverage of Donald Trump, she had an obligation to look beneath the surface before going public.
And for that, she should apologize.
Van Susteren image via screen grab.
What sort of lawsuit will Van Suckup now bring to get her million-dollar settlement?
HaHa or oooww? Since the time of LBJ in the mid 60s people have been making strides. The atmosphere at Faux News is Satan’s fart on the ninth level of Hell.
Your ego is getting in the way of you doing the right thing, Greta. The women at FOX “news” and Wemple do not owe YOU an apology of any kind. Temple rightfully called you out and, apparently, the women at FOX “news” didn’t feel they could tell you about their situations for whatever reasons.
Btw, Greta, did you ever get in touch with Gretchen and apologize to directly to her for casting aspersions on her/her lawsuit? “We all regret” and “Gretchen, you go girl” are NOT apologies.
NOTE TO GRETA
Sue them and get your payout. Your career maybe over. At least get some money out of it. And tell the world about deceitful Ailes.