Sean Hannity Has a Long, Revolting History of Undermining Women Who Report Sexual Abuse

His brand practically revolves around protecting predators.

Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore / Flickr

By Andrew Lawrence, Julie Alderman, Dina Radke/ Media Matters-November 20, 2017

Fox News host Sean Hannity has become a reliable ally for powerful men accused of sexual assault and harassment, regularly using his platform to discredit women who report sexual misconduct and cast doubt on their complaints. Here is a look back on the ways Hannity has attempted to undermine these women and defend the men who have been reported.

Roy Moore

Eight women have said [5] Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore, a former judge of Alabama Supreme Court, sexually harassed or assaulted them, or had relations with them, when they were teenagers. The Washington Post first reported [6] on November 9 that Leigh Corfman was 14 years old when Moore made sexual advancements toward her, and a number of women have since come forward with similar claims.

Hannity: Many women who report sexual harassment “will lie to make money.” [Media Matters, 11/9/17 [7]]

Hannity: “Then you have false allegations that are made, and -- how do you determine? It's ‘He said, she [said].’" [Media Matters, 11/9/17 [8]]

Hannity: “How do you know if it's true? How do we -- what's true? What's not true? How do you ascertain the truth?” [Media Matters, 11/9/17 [9]]

Hannity: “We do have Ten Commandments. One of the commandments is ‘Thou shalt not bear false witness.’ We know human beings break, with regularity, the other nine commandments. Did they break this one?” [Media Matters, 11/9/17 [9]]

Hannity: “But then also, are there false allegations? And when it's ‘he said, she said’ or whatever, how do you tell the difference?” [Premiere Radio Networks, Media Matters, 11/9/17 [9]]

Hannity invoked the Duke Lacrosse team case; Michael Brown, who was shot by a white cop in Ferguson, MO; George Zimmerman, who fatally shot Trayvon Martin; and Freddie Gray, who was killed in police custody to suggest there’s a history of accusers lying. [Media Matters, 11/9/17 [10]]

Hannity: The “swamp,” “the sewer,” and the “establishment” are out to get Moore. [Media Matters,11/9/17 [8]]

Hannity: The Wash. Post “hates anything Republican, anything conservative.” [Media Matters, 11/9/17 [11]]

Roger Ailes

In July 2016, former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson filed a lawsuit [12] against Roger Ailes, the now-deceased former Fox News CEO, alleging sexual harassment and retaliation against her when she would not have “a sexual relationship with him.” An additional 25 women also came forward [13] with similar accusations. Reports later detailed startling revelations of Ailes’ attempts to cover up his sexual misconduct by spying [14] on employees and silencing [15] his accusers.

Hannity to Carlson: “Why did you stay after such ‘harassment’ asking for more airtime?” [Twitter, 7/13/16 [16]]

Hannity about Carlson: “Why did [Carlson] send handwritten notes with smiley faces asking for more airtime after the ‘alleged’ traumatic incident?” [Twitter, 7/13/16 [17]]
Hannity attacked accusations levied by Carlson as coming from a “publicity seeking” attorney. [Twitter, 7/9/16 [18]]

Hannity: “Hundreds of woman (sic) at Fox that I talked to” said all allegations against Ailes are “BS.”[Twitter, 7/9/16 [19]]

Hannity: “I have spoken to many woman (sic) who work at Fox that have the most amazing stories of how kind Roger is to them.” [Twitter, 7/9/16 [20]]

Hannity to Gabriel Sherman who reported on Ailes: “U r an Ailes and Fox stalker.” [Twitter, 7/13/16 [21]]
Donald Trump

In 2016, at least 20 women [22] accused then-candidate Donald Trump of sexual misconduct, including 12 nonconsensual physical encounters. In October 2016, The Washington Post reported [23] on a video clip in which a hot microphone caught Trump bragging to Billy Bush, then of Access Hollywood, “in vulgar terms about kissing, groping and trying to have sex with women.”

Hannity shrugged off accusations against Trump, arguing, “King David had 500 concubines for crying out loud!” [Fox News, Hannity, 10/7/16 [24]]

Hannity suggested that one of Trump’s accusers may have “welcome[d]” the sexual assault.  [Media Matters, 10/13/16 [25]]

Hannity mocked one of Trump's accusers: “Donald Trump groped me on a plane. It was all right for the first 15 minutes, but then he went too far.” [Media Matters, 10/14/17 [26]]

Hannity on Trump accusers: “Just saying ‘help’ would solve the problem.” [Media Matters, 10/20/17 [27]]

Hannity called accusations of sexual assault against Trump “an attempt to neutralize the WikiLeaks revelations,” referring to the stories generated from hacked Democratic emails.  [Media Matters, 10/13/16 [25]]

Bill O’Reilly

On April 1, The New York Times reported [28] that former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly and 21st Century Fox, Fox News’ parent company, paid out at least $13 million in settlements with five women who said O’Reilly harassed them.

Hannity gave O’Reilly a platform on his shows multiple times to attack the women who reported him. [Media Matters, 9/26/17 [29], 10/5/17 [30]]

Hannity hosted disgraced former Fox host O’Reilly after he was fired from the network. [Media Matters, 9/25/17 [31]]

Clarence Thomas

In 1991, Anita Hill, who worked as a former aide to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas during his time at the Department of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, “submitted a confidential statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee alleging that Thomas had sexually harassed her 10 years earlier,” according [32] to CBS News. At least two other women also accused [33] Thomas of sexual assault.

While interviewing Thomas, Hannity referred to his accusers as “those that systematically went about destroying you.” [FoxNews.com, 10/3/07 [34]]

Hannity implied that Thomas was “an innocent man” who had had “his reputation destroyed forever.” [Premiere Radio Networks, The Sean Hannity Show, 11/10/17 [35]]

Hannity has praised Thomas for “giving one of the most powerful defenses” against sexual assault accusations. [Fox News, Hannity, 11/10/17 [36]]

Herman Cain

In 2011, at least two women reported [37] that Herman Cain, who was at the time a candidate in the Republican presidential primaries, had sexually harased them during his tenure as the head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s.

Under a screen graphic that read “Herman hysteria,” Hannity questioned whether the charges were “politically motivated,” and badgered an accuser for “staying in the car” with Cain after she says she was harassed. [Media Matters, 11/11/11 [38]]

Hannity sought to discredit accusations against Cain and Justice Clarence Thomas, parroting their characterization of the charges as a “high-tech lynching.” [Politico, 11/10/11 [39]]

Hannity on Cain’s press conference denying sexual harassment accusations: “You would think this is going to end it.” [Media Matters 11/9/11 [40]]
Bill Shine

After Ailes was ousted in August 2016 amid mounting sexual harassment allegations, Fox News promoted [41] Bill Shine to co-president of the network. As senior executive vice president, Shine had reportedly [42] “played an integral role” in covering up sexual harassment claims, including those against Ailes. Shine had a role [41] in pushing “women into confidential mediation [and into] signing nondisclosure agreements in exchange for their contracts to be paid” as well as in establishing a “counter-narrative” to discredit Carlson. He later resigned [43] after reports surfaced that he was cited [44] “in at least four lawsuits” that accused him of ignoring, dismissing, and even concealing sexual harassment allegations against Ailes.

Hannity: “Somebody HIGH UP AND INSIDE FNC is trying to get an innocent person fired.” [Twitter, 4/27/16 [45]]

Hannity: If Shine is fired, “that’s the total end of the FNC as we know it.” [Twitter, 4/27/16 [46]]

Hannity: “#Istandwithshine.” [Twitter, 4/27/16 [47]]