Skip Bayless, Fox Sports Sued for Sexual Battery, Hostile Workplace

Skip Bayless, former host of Skip and Shannon: Undisputed on Fox Sports 1, is among several key figures, along with the network, accused by former Fox Sports hairstylist Noushin Faraji of sexual battery, hostile work environment and related claims in a Los Angeles County trial court.

The complaint, first reported by Front Office Sports, was filed last Friday. Faraji’s complaint also depicts Fox as underpaying workers, accusing Fox of failure to pay minimum wages, failure to pay overtime wages and failure to reimburse business expenses. She seeks for her case to be certified as a class action on behalf of similarly situated Fox employees.

The 42-page complaint claims that multiple men sexually harassed and sexually battered Faraji while she worked at the company from 2012 to 2024. She claims that in 2017, FS1 executive Charlie Dixon rubbed her body with his hand and grabbed her buttocks. Faraji says she told a coworker, host Joy Taylor, about Dixon’s actions, and Taylor allegedly told Faraji to “get over it.” (Additionally, Faraji claims Taylor, who is also a named defendant, was sleeping with Dixon.)

Some of the lawsuit’s most serious allegations are against Bayless. Faraji says Bayless offered to pay her $1.5 million to have sex after she told him she has cancer. Also, she claims he gave “lingering hugs” and “kisses on the cheek” in hopes of convincing her to have sex. Faraji says Bayless would make excuses and change the topic, or make a joke—“anything,” she says, “to keep Mr. Bayless appeased and her job safe.”

Further, Faraji contends that after she responded to an advance by Bayless in 2021, saying, “Skip, stop, you have a wife,” he in turn responded, “Aren’t you Muslim? Doesn’t your dad have three to four wives?” Faraji recalls telling him that her father was dead.

Faraji wants her case to be certified as a class action on behalf of others who worked at Fox at some point over the last four years, who were nonexempt hourly workers and who were allegedly denied minimum wage, overtime, double time and other benefits. Certification of a lawsuit into a class action is a separate process where a judge will weigh whether Faraji’s claims are typical of others in her proposed class and whether there are common questions of law and fact, among other considerations. Fox will have the opportunity to argue certification is unwarranted.

Fox—which Front Office Sports quotes as saying, “we take these allegations seriously and have no further comment at this time given this pending litigation”—will also challenge the substance of the case when it answers the complaint and motions for its dismissal. To that end, although the complaint references alleged text messages from Bayless, the more explosive and damning allegations are told through Faraji’s recollections. It remains to be seen whether Faraji produces evidence, such as emails or voicemails, and witness testimony that corroborate her accusations.

For instance, the complaint says that Bayless texted Faraji on April 12, 2022. He allegedly wrote he was “good today,” which the complaint interprets to mean he was not coming in for hair or makeup. The next day, Bayless allegedly texted Faraji: “Not comfortable coming down here. Just do what you need to do. It’s okay.” After Faraji allegedly asked him what was wrong, he texted, “Same stuff. Worse.” The complaint then says Faraji went to see Bayless in the fitting room and there, she claims, Bayless “angrily” accused Faraji of having sexual relations with co-host Shannon Sharpe, an accusation she told him was untrue. The following day Bayless allegedly texted to feeling “confused,” which Faraji said was in reference to his misbelief about her relationship with Sharpe. Bayless is then quoted as writing, “Do you still want to do the haircut or just move on?”

Although Faraji’s commentary paints Bayless as pressuring her to have sex and being defensive about other possible relationships in the office, the wording of his texts does not necessarily support that portrayal. To inject context, Faraji relies on her retelling of meetings and phone calls with Bayless, including verbatim quotes from what she claims he said years ago.

Faraji says that her workload was “systemically reduced,” and then she was terminated from her job in 2024, with (according to Faraji) Fox attributing the termination due to business necessities. She also says Fox restored its normal scheduling approach after she was let go. Bayless worked for Fox Sports until 2024 when Undisputed was canceled.

Expect Bayless and Fox to push back and argue these retellings are untrue, unsupported, exaggerative and/or taken out of context. Faraji does reference her diary and entries from 2023. While a diary is helpful evidence in that it captures what someone was thinking on a particular date, it is not a recording and could be challenged for accuracy. Faraji also references filing complaints to Fox human resources; should the case advance to pretrial discovery, those HR files could be turned over and HR staff could be ordered to give sworn testimony.

Fox might also accuse Faraji of substandard work and other deficiencies in her work. Employers sued by former employees often turn the table on the employee to contend the terminated employee’s work was substandard and they were let go on account of poor performance or economic reasons, or both. Whether Fox has performance reviews and related materials found in personnel files to support that assertion remains to be seen.

There’s also the possibility of mandatory arbitration or mediation language surfacing as a defense. Faraji references having an employment contract, which might contain language that blocks, limits or complicates her ability to proceed with claims in a court. Faraji also references a union, which might have a labor agreement that also proves disruptive for her in court.

The case could settle at any point, but it’s noteworthy that Fox either declined to settle or declined to offer terms that were acceptable to Faraji before she filed her complaint. A complaint is preceded by a demand letter that outlines a desired remedy, usually money, in exchange for an out-of-court settlement. In a settlement, the parties agree to confidentiality and to release potential claims they may have against the other. Fox would have known that this complaint would generate headlines and yet did not settle it.

Anthony Crupi contributed to this story.