A day after HuffPost reported that Fox News contributor Tyrus had sent a series of lewd text messages to his former Un-PC co-host Britt McHenry, the current NUFFSAID host appeared on colleague Dana Perino’s Fox News show for a playful and friendly interview in which this latest embarrassing incident wasn’t addressed.
Following up Daily Beast reporting last month that revealed Tyrus was pulled off the show he co-hosted with McHenry because she complained he had sexually harassed her, HuffPost’s Yashar Ali obtained a series of text messages between the two that appear to be the basis for the complaints.
“Just pull your boobs out now why don’t you. Just grin and bare it,” Tyrus said in one message, along with “keep being negative and I’ll send you another dick pic.”
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With this latest report on the allegations of sexual harassment less than 24 hours ago, Tyrus nevertheless made his regular Friday afternoon appearance on Perino’s The Daily Briefing. And while no mention was made of the inappropriate texts, Perino and Tyrus did engage in a chummy chat on working out and puppies.
After discussing the tropical storm bearing down on New Orleans and how the area is preparing for it, the pair turned their attention to the “plank challenge,” which included the following exchange.
“It’s good for your posture,” Perino noted.
“But then again, Dana, who has better posture than you,” Tyrus replied.
Following McHenry’s complaints to Fox executives, the pair were split up and Tyrus, a former WWE wrestler, was given his own Fox Nation show while McHenry was kept on Un-PC with a substitute co-host.
In response to the Daily Beast’s report on the sexual-harassment complaint, Fox News provided the following statement: “While we are not at liberty to discuss the details of any employee matter, we follow strict protocols when matters such as these are brought to our attention, and we make no exceptions. The process works because of the extensive systems and measures we have instituted. This situation was independently investigated and we consider the matter resolved. We respect the confidentiality of all involved.”
Fox News, however, declined to comment to HuffPost on Tyrus’ texts, and the one-time Snoop Dogg bodyguard did not immediately respond to Ali’s direct message on Twitter.
The network did release another statement on Friday afternoon, essentially reiterating its previous statement to the Daily Beast, stating that “the matter was immediately and thoroughly investigated by an outside law firm” and all “protocols were followed and the recommendations we received were appropriate.”
And this won't be Tyrus' last hit on Fox News this week. The Greg Gutfeld Show, which airs on Saturday nights, has already promoted an appearance by the ex-wrestler, who has been a regular guest on the program for years now.
McHenry, meanwhile, has largely been absent from Fox News programming since April.
