21st Century Fox disputes reports that Roger Ailes has been fired

Roger Ailes will leave Fox News.
(Image credit: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)

Update 5:13 p.m.: 21st Century Fox, Fox News' parent company, has disputed the reports that Roger Ailes has been fired. Our original story appears below.

Embattled network CEO Roger Ailes has been fired from Fox News, Matt Drudge reports. Drudge tweeted and then deleted an apparent legal document that detailed the circumstances of Ailes' departure, which follows weeks of controversy at the network after former anchor Gretchen Carlson earlier this month accused Ailes of repeated sexual harassment during her time at Fox. On Tuesday, Daily Intelligencer's Gabriel Sherman wrote that sources said anchor Megyn Kelly, a rising star at Fox News, told lawyers investigating the harassment claims that Ailes sexually harassed her as well.

A statement on the Drudge Report, apparently from Ailes' team, reads:

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Roger Ailes has never sexually harassed Megyn Kelly. In fact, he has spent much of the last decade promoting and helping her to achieve the stardom she earned, for which she has repeatedly and publicly thanked him. [Drudge Report]

Sherman had reported Monday that Rupert Murdoch — the boss at 21st Century Fox, Fox News' parent company — and his two sons had decided to remove Ailes, who has denied all allegations. The Daily Beast confirmed Drudge's report of Ailes' firing. Ailes will reportedly receive a buyout of at least $40 million.

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Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.