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<\/p>\nBy Rudy Takala
\nMEDIAite<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Inconsistencies are emerging in claims made by\u00a0Cathy Areu<\/strong>, a once-periodic Fox News guest, that she was harassed by some of the network\u2019s biggest names \u2014 including prime time anchor\u00a0Tucker Carlson\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Sean Hannity<\/strong>. New emails obtained by Mediaite shed further light on the case.<\/p>\n In a\u00a0lawsuit<\/a>\u00a0filed on Monday in the Southern District of New York, Areu claims she was harassed by Carlson, Hannity and other employees of the network, and that she was largely barred from appearing after she declined their advances. In an initial response the company said the claims were \u201ccompletely false.\u201d<\/p>\n Over the last several days, records of Areu\u2019s appearances on the network and other publicly available information has undermined some of her claims. New emails between Areu and the network\u2019s employees seem to add to those concerns.<\/p>\n Even more significantly, eyewitness accounts indicate Carlson\u2019s wife was with him on a key evening when Areu said Carlson promised her he would be alone.<\/p>\n Claim against Sean Hannity<\/strong><\/p>\n In the lawsuit, Areu claims, she was a \u201crelatively regular\u201d guest on Hannity\u2019s prime-time show until March 8, 2018. \u201cOn that day, Mr. Hannity, on set and in front of the entire studio crew \u2013 and completely unsolicited \u2013 threw $100 on the set desk,\u201d the suit claimed. \u201cHe then began calling out to the men in the room and demanding that someone take Ms. Areu out on a date for drinks at Del Friscos. He repeatedly yelled, \u2018who wants to take her on a date?\u2019 \u2018Take her on a date to Del Friscos.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Areu \u201cwas completely mortified,\u201d the lawsuit added, \u201cand made clear that she was incredibly uncomfortable with Mr. Hannity\u2019s misogynistic behavior by quietly pleading with one of her friends in the room to accept the money so that the humiliation would end. Thankfully, none of the staff cooperated with Mr. Hannity, even after he repeatedly chided one particular male employee for being \u2018afraid to take out a beautiful woman.’\u201d<\/p>\n Emails provided by Fox News and reviewed by Mediaite, appear to show that the male friend Areu referenced actually came to the set that evening at Areu\u2019s invitation.<\/p>\n \u201cIs it ok for me to bring a guest?\u201d Areu apparently wrote in an email to a staffer earlier that day, referring to the guest as \u201cAlex.\u201d She added, \u201cHe\u2019s my good luck charm. He does yoga. Very calming. I run. I\u2019m nuts,\u201d before signing the email with a winking face and her name.<\/p>\n The staffer replied: \u201cHaha of course! No problem at all \u2013 will add him to the security list,\u201d signing the email with a smiling face.<\/p>\n According to Fox News, which hired an outside firm to investigate Areu\u2019s allegations, Hannity offered Areu and her friend $100 to get drinks next door at Del Friscos after the appearance.<\/p>\n Areu then apparently sent two emails thanking Hannity and his staff. The first, at 10:37 in the evening, said: \u201cThanks so much for having me on. Way too much fun.\u201d<\/p>\n The second, sent at 6:39 the next morning, included a picture of the martini she said she bought at Del Frisco\u2019s. \u201cPlease thank Sean for a fun evening,\u201d Areu wrote. \u201cHe shouldn\u2019t have! \u2026 but We did exactly as he and Alex\u2019s had bet. Down to the pineapple martini.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Fox News, its records indicate Areu appeared on Hannity a total of nine times between the date of the alleged incident, March 8, 2018, and July 3, 2019. Of that number, Fox said, five appearances took place in the four months directly after the incident. A search by Mediaite confirmed that Areu appeared repeatedly on the show following the alleged incident, both with Hannity and with guest hosts.<\/p>\n The network claimed that on one of those subsequent appearances, Areu thanked Hannity again for the drinks, and he again gave her and the same friend money for another round of drinks.<\/p>\n Claim against Tucker Carlson<\/strong><\/p>\n Additional inconsistencies involve Areu\u2019s claim that she was harassed during her \u201cfinal 2018 appearance\u201d on Carlson\u2019s program. \u201cFollowing the show, Mr. Carlson changed on set into his leather jacket for the annual Christmas party that he told Ms. Areu he would only be attending for approximately 10 minutes,\u201d the suit stated.<\/p>\n Reporters including\u00a0The Spectator\u2019s<\/em>\u00a0Amber Athey<\/strong>\u00a0quickly noted Areu\u2019s final 2018 appearance with Carlson took place on November 30 of that year, while the network\u2019s annual Christmas party took place on December 10. Areu did not appear on the December 10 episode of\u00a0Tucker Carlson Tonight<\/em>. Additionally, she appeared on a December 28 edition of the program, guest-hosted that night by\u00a0Mark Steyn<\/strong>.<\/p>\n While that final interview was\u00a0archived<\/a>\u00a0on film website IMDB, an attorney for Areu,\u00a0Michael Willemin<\/strong>, told Mediaite his client had no recollection of it. He also said the Christmas party Areu was referencing must have been a smaller holiday event held for Carlson\u2019s staff rather than the company-wide event.<\/p>\n \u201cThe incident with Tucker Carlson actually occurred on Nov. 30, not Dec. 10,\u201d Willemin said. \u201cMs. Areu misrecollected that the incident occurred in December because it occurred following a winter\/Christmas segment. It is entirely possible that she appeared on Dec. 28, although she doesn\u2019t have a specific recollection of that and if she did appear, it was not in Mr. Carlson\u2019s physical presence.\u201d<\/p>\n That claim leads to another issue. \u201cFollowing the show,\u201d Areu asserts in her lawsuit, \u201cMr. Carlson, hardly making any effort to hide his intentions, began telling Ms. Areu that he would be alone in New York City that night, and specifically said that he would be staying alone in his hotel room without any wife or kids.\u201d<\/p>\n A source familiar with the event told Mediaite that Carlson\u2019s wife did attend the\u00a0Tucker Carlson Tonight<\/em>\u00a0Christmas party. Fox News also told Mediaite that Carlson hosted the entire party for his show\u2019s staff alongside his wife, who stayed in the hotel with him that evening.<\/p>\n \u201cShe didn\u2019t go to the party so she can\u2019t say who was there, but certainly stands by what he told her,\u201d Areu\u2019s attorney said.<\/p>\n![\"Cathy](\"https:\/\/am12.mediaite.com\/med\/cnt\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Cathy-Areu-Email-2-1.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/am11.mediaite.com\/med\/cnt\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Cathy-Areu-Email-1-1.png\")
Areu\u2019s lawsuit claimed that she believes the incident resulted in her being barred from future appearances: \u201cAfter this incident, and Ms. Areu\u2019s failure to \u2018play along,\u2019 Ms. Areu was hardly ever, if ever at all, invited back to appear on \u2018Hannity\u2019 on Fox News Channel.\u201d<\/p>\n