Former Fox host Gretchen Carlson files sexual harassment suit against Roger Ailes

Fox News’ former host Gretchen Carlson has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against network CEO Roger Ailes alleging that he fired her after she had refused his advances and complained about office discrimination.

The lawsuit, filed in New Jersey Superior Court, charged that Ailes ogled Carlson at work, called her “sexy” and made frequent comments about her physical appearance, the New York Times reported.

“I think you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago, and then you’d be good and better and I’d be good and better,” the lawsuit alleges that Ailes said to Carlson during a September meeting she requested to “bring to an end the retaliatory and discriminatory treatment she had endured,” CNN Money reported.

When Carlson refused his advances, according to the lawsuit, Ailes reduced her salary, cut her on-air appearances and did not renew her contract, the Times added.

“We are very confident in our evidence. We have very powerful evidence,” attorney Nancy Erika Smith said to CNN Money when asked about recordings or various evidence of the allegations in the suit.

Carlson hosted the 2 p.m. Fox program “The Real Story With Gretchen Carlson,” which consistently won its time slot with a recent average of 1.1 million viewers, according to the Times.