21st Century Fox is reportedly making an example of President Trump at its routine company workshops on workplace harassment. At a workshop Tuesday at Fox's studio in Los Angeles, employees were shown Trump's infamous Access Hollywood tape, which features Trump bragging about grabbing women by their genitals, a spokesperson has confirmed to Talking Points Memo. In the tape from 2005, Trump can be overheard saying he can "do anything" to women because of his fame.
The Hollywood Reporter said Fox followed up the tape with a brief discussion about why Trump's behavior was inappropriate. "They went through the scenario of the tape, why it was harassment, and why it's something you should report," an employee at the workshop told The Hollywood Reporter. "There was an audible gasp in the room, like, 'Can you believe this is happening?'"
Trump has apologized for the comments he made in the tape, which he dismissed as "locker room talk." That excuse was repeated by several reporters on Fox News, which is owned by 21st Century Fox. "Someone joked about getting fired for harassment and wondering if the defense could be, 'We were only told a behavior was bad once in a seminar,' but Fox News said it was 'just locker room talk' over and over again," the employee said.
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The workshop also apparently included a joke about Fox News host Bill O'Reilly, who is facing allegations of sexual harassment, and former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes, who resigned last summer amid accusations of harassment. The Hollywood Reporter revealed "a human resources executive quipped during the presentation that the department handled all of Fox except Fox News, so the presentation could not include any information about Ailes or O'Reilly." "It was a joke," the employee said, "but it did not play well in the room."
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