Ailes has been at the center of controversy lately as prominent past and current female hosts claimed the 76-year-old executive tried to pressure them into having a sexual relationship with him.
The first of these claims came from Gretchen Carlson, who said Ailes targeted her for defending women that were mistreated at the network, calling her a “man hater”, and telling her, "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."
Ailes also reportedly claimed in an industry speech that “he had slept with three former Miss Americas, but not with her," in reference to Carlson, who won Miss America in 1989.
The next major allegations came from current host Megyn Kelly, who told investigators at the Paul, Weiss law firm that Ailes first made advances toward her some 10 years ago when she started at Fox News as a correspondent for their Washington, D.C. Bureau.
In a statement released by 21st Century Fox, Murdoch complimented Ailes on his service to the conservative media outlet. "Roger Ailes has made a remarkable contribution to our company and our country." He said, adding, "Roger shared my vision of a great and independent television organization and executed it brilliantly over 20 great years."
Murdoch’s sons and company co-chairmen, Lachlan and James, echoed their father’s sentiments saying, "We join our father in recognizing Roger’s remarkable contributions to our company. Our talented Fox News and Fox Business colleagues, up and down the organization and on both sides on the camera, have built something that continues to redefine the cable news experience for millions of viewers."
They added, "We are enormously proud of their accomplishments. For them, as well as for our colleagues across our entire organization, we continue our commitment to maintaining a work environment based on trust and respect. We take seriously our responsibility to uphold these traditional, long-standing values of our country."
This week, some of Fox News’ most popular hosts threatened to leave the network if Ailes was forced to depart, among them, Sean Hannity, Greta Van Susteren and Bill O’Reilly.
Some Fox News employees reacted to the news on Twitter.
— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) July 21, 2016
Others on social media were happy to see him go.
— Full Frontal (@FullFrontalSamB) July 21, 2016
— Bill Chuck (@BillyBall) July 21, 2016
