Ten days after Tomi Lahren sued Glenn Beck and TheBlaze for “wrongful termination,” the right-wing media mogul and his network countersued Lahren, saying she is actually still employed by the company and that she has been nothing short of a nightmare employee.
“Lahren quickly made herself into one of the most divisive people in media both to the general public and within TheBlaze organization,” reads the lawsuit, filed Monday in a Texas court. “Her claims are baseless.”
The 24-year-old firebrand hosted a primetime commentary show for the Beck startup—often generating outrage for her pro-Trump rants about Muslims, Black Lives Matter, and liberal “snowflakes”—until last month when finally went too far by expressing pro-choice opinions to The View.
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Lahren’s show was subsequently suspended, her Facebook platform silenced, and a vicious media war has ensued between both parties.
Lahren claimed she was fired for her speech, but Beck and TheBlaze’s attorneys say the company simply invoked a standard “pay or play” option where she gets paid while not appearing on their broadcast. Appearing on ABC‘s Nightline, Lahren indirectly pleaded with Beck: “Let me go. Let me move on,” adding that she feels “lost” after having her show and social media stripped from her.
TheBlaze, however, pointed to their claim that the network created her Facebook account and that they didn’t take it away from her—it’s theirs to keep.
As for Lahren’s claim that her pro-choice views were the cause of her show’s demise, the lawsuit claims she had become a problem for the network long before she ever came out in favor of legal abortion on national television.
Lahren allegedly treated her show’s stage crew in an “inappropriate and unprofessional” manner and “constantly complained” about the production. Additionally, the lawsuit claims, “Lahren’s word choices on air had to be addressed repeatedly for bordering on the profane.”
Advertisers allegedly “reported that Lahren was difficult to work with and that their advertisements performed poorly on her show,” the suit adds. “And Lahren’s incendiary, emotion-driven approach to content creation often turned off Lahren’s colleagues, advertisers, and viewers.”
Among the other allegations leveled against Lahren: she caused a human-resources hubbub by refusing to work one of the network’s two full-time makeup artists; was overheard complaining about TheBlaze, claiming she would one day own the network; and violated her contract by publicly disclosing her network-provided wardrobe budget.
Finally, the lawsuit asserts, “Lahren embarrassed the company and many of its staff and other personalities because her statements [on abortion] were uninformed and inconsistent.” Her comments—which were contradictory of her own previous statements on the subject—“offended” the network’s predominantly conservative audience and therefore “reflected negatively on TheBlaze’s reputation.”
The network seeks a court ruling declaring Lahren remain under contract at TheBlaze, an injunction against her for breach of contract, and a restraining order against her making any public appearances or statements without TheBlaze’s approval.
