Fox News anchor Ed Henry fired after sexual misconduct investigation

Fox News anchor Ed Henry has been fired following an investigation into sexual misconduct allegations.

Fox News Media Chief Executive Suzanne Scott announced Henry’s dismissal in an internal memo sent to employees Wednesday.

The memo said the company received a complaint on June 25 from the attorney of a former employee that described “willful sexual misconduct in the workplace years ago.” An outside law firm was retained to investigate the claims. “Based on the investigative findings, Ed has been terminated,” Scott said.

Henry, 48, had been the co-anchor of “America’s Newsroom” with Sandra Smith. He joined Fox News in 2011 after a stint with CNN. He is a former president of the White House Correspondents Assn.

Fox News did not reveal the employee who made the complaint. Douglas Wigdor, the attorney who has handled numerous sexual harassment and racial discrimination cases against the network, confirmed that he is representing the woman.

Fox News has been aggressive in responding to sexual harassment complaints after overhauling its human resources department in 2017. The cable news network was one of the media hot zones during the #MeToo movement after its founding chief executive, Roger Ailes, was fired for harassing numerous female employees, including anchor Gretchen Carlson, who received a $20-million settlement.

Former hosts Bill O’Reilly and Eric Bolling and correspondent James Rosen are among the on-air employees who have been shown the door following harassment allegations.

“Fox News Media strictly prohibits all forms of sexual harassment, misconduct and discrimination,” Scott said. “We will continue striving to make a safe workplace for all employees.”

Henry took a temporary leave of absence from Fox News in 2016 after a report that he had an extramarital affair with a Las Vegas hostess and stripper. He had been covering the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton at the time.