Taren Asher, a news presenter at Fox 2 Detroit, appears in a video that circulated online insulting a colleague during a heated altercation in the newsroom. In the video, Asher describes her colleague as "a loser" and berates her with crude language while complaining about the handling of news scripts.
The station suspended Asher in November and subsequently fired her, justifying the action on grounds of "unprofessional conduct" and recurring "outbursts of anger" directed at colleagues. According to the station's response to a lawsuit filed by Asher, several employees complained about her conduct, and Fox accused her of shouting at co-workers, using offensive language and engaging in "conflictual and disrespectful" confrontations.
The station also indicated that Asher had a conflict with colleague presenter Rob Raj over interviews with guests, accusing him of receiving preferential treatment, after which she was placed on paid leave during an investigation. On 21 November, management informed her that she would not return to work due to "recurring outbursts of anger in the newsroom and multiple instances of unprofessional conduct".
Asher denies the accusations and is suing Fox 2 Detroit for sexual discrimination and retaliation, claiming that male employees accused of misconduct were treated with greater leniency. Her lawyer argued that the video does not reflect the full story and that the incident preceded this, arguing it was not the cause of her dismissal. Fox denies these accusations.
