A woman who worked as a hairstylist for Fox Sports alleges in a lawsuit that former host Skip Bayless made repeated, unwanted advances toward her – including an offer of $1.5 million to have sex with him.
Attorneys for Noushin Faraji, who was a hair stylist at Fox for more than a decade, are seeking unspecified damages from Bayless, Fox Sports and its parent company, Fox Corporation, according to a copy of the lawsuit filed Friday in California Superior Court in Los Angeles.
The complaint claims Fox executives fostered a hostile work environment that allowed senior managers and on-air personalities including Bayless to abuse workers without fear of punishment.
The Associated Press does not generally identify, in text or images, those who say they have been sexually assaulted or subjected to abuse unless they have publicly identified themselves as Faraji has in filing the lawsuit.
An attorney for Bayless, Jared Levine, did not immediately respond to AP’s telephone and text messages seeking comment. Email and phone messages left at Bayless’s talent company were not immediately returned.
Bayless could not be reached directly for comment.
Fox Sports said in a statement that it takes the allegations seriously but had no further comment given the pending lawsuit.
Photo by Ian Maddox for The Washington Post via Getty Images
Faraji claimed that the advances by Bayless, which began in 2017 and continued until last year – included lingering hugs, kisses on the cheek and comments from Bayless that he could change Faraji’s life if she had sex with him.
In 2021, she claims in the suit, Bayless offered Faraji $1.5 million for sex and, after she refused, later threatened her job.
“Ms. Faraji knew that he was trying to pressure her into having sex with him, but she kept repeating that she was a professional that had to be kind to all talent,” the lawsuit says.
Bayless worked for Fox Sports until 2024 when his show was canceled after its ratings plummeted with the departure of his co-host, Shannon Sharpe.
Faraji said she was fired in 2024 based on “fabricated” reasons. The lawsuit said she initially remained quiet about her treatment at Fox, believing she could be in danger if she went public.
The suit also claims Fox employees were not paid their full wages or overtime. It seeks class-action status on behalf of other workers who allegedly were impacted.
In 2017 Fox Sports fired its head of programming amid a probe of sexual harassment allegations.
