Months after sparking outrage from its own employees for hiring disgraced former Fox News anchor Ed Henry, right-wing cable channel Newsmax turned to the accused sexual predator to criticize E. Jean Carroll after Donald Trump was ordered to pay $83 million for defaming and sexually assaulting her.
Fired by Fox News in July 2020 amid sexual misconduct allegations, Henry was later accused of rape by former Fox Business producer Jennifer Eckhart in a brutal civil lawsuit. A judge ruled in September 2021 that Henry must face the suit accusing him of sex trafficking, and rejected the following year his motion to dismiss allegations that he violated New York’s “revenge porn” statute.
While Henry has denied the allegations by Eckhart, he voluntarily dismissed “with prejudice” his defamation lawsuits against CNN and NPR for reporting on the sexual misconduct allegations that led to his firing from Fox. Additionally, in late 2022, a judge allowed Eckhart’s sex trafficking lawsuit to include new claims under the New York Adult Survivors Act.
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During Tuesday afternoon’s broadcast of Newmsax’s American Agenda, Henry was brought on to talk about Carroll’s recent interview with MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow, which featured the columnist joking about how she’d spend the money she won from Trump.
Henry, who joined Newsmax last year after a tumultuous stint at fringe-right outlet Real America’s Voice, immediately began mocking Carroll for flippantly saying she’d take Maddow shopping in France. This was in response to the MSNBC star noting that Carroll had said previously she’d use the funds to help advance women’s rights.
“Oh, let’s start with women’s rights. ‘I’m gonna help women’s rights.’ I’m gonna go shopping, so let’s push a stereotype of women. How does that make you feel?” Henry reacted, addressing anchor Katrina Szish. “Oh, women go shopping! How bizarre is that?”
After Szish wondered aloud “how damaged is she really” and “how hurt” Carroll actually was by Trump, Henry added that the former Elle writer didn’t come across as victimized by the ex-president.
“That doesn’t sound like a victim,” he declared. “That sounds like someone who’s enjoying this and is sort of making fun of taking Trump’s money. Which, by the way, I assume the appeals court will have something to say about how much it really is. So it may not be as many penthouses as she thinks.”
Henry continued with his “broader point,” claiming this was just another example of “lawfare” directed at Trump to damage him but that it could backfire and get the ex-president re-elected because it “pisses people off.”
Still ostensibly talking about Trump, Henry added: “He got dragged through the mud on this. He’s denied it. And she wants to talk about women’s rights and then says, ‘Let’s go to France, let’s get a penthouse.’”
The segment then switched to The View celebrating the verdict, prompting Henry to complain that it wasn’t “about justice” but rather “beating up on Trump” and “getting a pound of flesh” from the former president.
Representatives for Newsmax and Eckhart didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
