Whatever Happened To Fox News’ Gretchen Carlson?

Gretchen Carlson’s path to television journalism started not with a camera but a violin. A child prodigy, she performed with the Minnesota Orchestra at just 13 and went on to win Miss Minnesota and then Miss America in 1989. After graduating from Stanford, Carlson set aside music and pursued journalism, climbing through small-market stations before joining CBS in 2000. By 2005, she was co-anchoring “Fox & Friends,” later moving to her own primetime show, The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson.

Her career was soaring—until 2016, when it abruptly ended and she launched a fight that would change American culture.

She sued Fox News for wrongful dismissal and sexual harassment

Carlson’s contract ended in June 2016. Weeks later, she sued Fox News chairman Roger Ailes, alleging she was fired after rejecting his advances and complaining about harassment, including sexist behavior from co-host Steve Doocy. Ailes denied the claims, blaming ratings. But Carlson’s lawsuit cracked open a culture of misconduct at Fox.

She lit the fire that sparked the #MeToo movement

Carlson couldn’t have known her suit would ignite a cultural revolution. More than 20 women soon accused Ailes of harassment dating back to the 1970s. The wave of allegations created the momentum that later fueled Ronan Farrow’s Weinstein exposé and the rise of #MeToo. Carlson admitted in 2019 she never expected to blaze that trail: “Every day for me is still surreal.”

Her lawsuit led to Ailes’ downfall

Under mounting pressure, Ailes resigned in July 2016, less than a month after Carlson’s suit. He left with a $40 million package but no admission of guilt. Less than a year later, he died after a fall at home. Carlson’s case not only ended his career but exposed one of Fox’s biggest scandals.

She won a massive $20M settlement

Carlson’s case settled in September 2016. She received $20 million—one of the largest single-person sexual harassment settlements ever—and an apology from 21st Century Fox: “We sincerely regret and apologize for the fact that Gretchen was not treated with the respect and dignity that she and all of our colleagues deserve.” Carlson said she was ready to move on and “redouble” her efforts to empower women.

She wrote a book on how to combat harassment

In 2017, Carlson published Be Fierce: Stop Harassment and Take Your Power Back, a “manifesto” on fighting workplace harassment. She was inundated with stories from women across professions and realized harassment was epidemic. “Women said to themselves, ‘Maybe I can come forward too and have similar results,’” she told The Politic.

She was named one of Time’s 100 most influential people

Carlson’s actions reverberated across the industry. Bill O’Reilly was later ousted after revelations of his own settlements. In 2017, Time honored Carlson on its “Most Influential People” list, with Katie Couric praising her courage for “blowing the lid off a corporate culture” of harassment.

Her story came to the screen

Hollywood dramatized Carlson’s battle in 2019 with Bombshell, starring Nicole Kidman as Carlson, and The Loudest Voice, a miniseries with Naomi Watts. Because of her NDA with Fox, Carlson couldn’t advise the productions, saying it felt like being “handcuffed and muzzled.”

She reinvented herself as an activist

Carlson soon recognized NDAs were silencing women everywhere. She co-founded Lift Our Voices in 2019 with Julie Roginsky, advocating to end NDAs and forced arbitration. “For so long women have been silenced,” she told Vanity Fair. “If I didn’t do it, who was going to?”

Her Miss America tenure was brief and controversial

In 2018, Carlson was named chair of the Miss America pageant, ushering in “Miss America 2.0” by eliminating the swimsuit competition. The move drew backlash and controversy. Later that year, reigning Miss America Cara Mund accused Carlson of bullying. By 2019, Carlson resigned amid turmoil.

She helped change U.S. law

Carlson’s activism reached Capitol Hill. She testified before Congress about the silencing effect of NDAs and arbitration. Her work helped pass the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, signed into law in March 2022. Carlson called it “one of the greatest days of my life—not for me, but for millions of workers.”

She sought justice for Jeffrey Epstein’s victims

In 2025, Carlson threw her support behind Jeffrey Epstein’s victims, praising their courage: “The survivors are the heroes in this case … we aim to continue lifting them up,” she told The Guardian. She noted how, for once, the public wasn’t questioning victims but demanding accountability for abusers.

From child violinist to beauty queen, news anchor, whistleblower, and activist, Gretchen Carlson transformed a personal fight into a cultural reckoning. Today, she continues to use her platform to fight for women silenced for too long.