Paranoid trash king Roger Ailes showed up to Donald Trump’s debate prep sporting a fresh black eye yesterday, reports his sworn enemy and extremely unauthorized biographer, New York Magazine’s Gabriel Sherman. But a question remains—who among the many he has wronged got the satisfaction of punching him in the eye?
The list of people with reason to sock Roger Ailes right in his squishy, puffy face is long, and justified. Ailes is an irrational, vindictive, abusive man who spent his time at Fox News spying on his detractors, threatening his enemies, and, according to dozens of allegations, routinely demanding sex from female employees, punishing those who rejected his advances. Who didn’t want to punch Ailes in the face is perhaps the better question. Still, it was probably one of these people:
- Gabriel Sherman, who broke the news—a convenient cover—after his personal information was spread around Fox News in a 400-page oppo file compiled by Ailes.
- Gretchen Carlson, who says she was fired after rejecting Ailes’ sexual advances.
- Megyn Kelly, who has not publicly commented on reports that she told Fox investigators she’d been harassed by Ailes.
- Andrea Tantaros, who says she was punished for complaining that Ailes sexually harassed her.
- Laurie Luhn, the Fox News booker who he blackmailed with a damaging video, who says she was coerced into aiding him in harassing other employees.
- Randi Harrison, the female producer he offered an extra $100 a week to have sex whenever he wanted.
- Any of the other 20-odd women he’s accused of sexually harassing.
- The staffers of Ailes’ small-town paper, the Putnam County News and Recorder, who Ailes had followed.
- Joe Lindsley, a bizarrely devoted former employee who was at one point tapped by Ailes’ wife to replace Ailes in their marriage when he died.
- Irena Briganti, the vindictive Fox News PR flack, whose career prospects took a sudden dive this summer.
- John Cook, who Ailes put under surveillance, seems nice enough—but can you ever really know a person?
- Hamilton Nolan, who Ailes also surveilled, is a known boxing enthusiast...
- Roger Ailes’ wife, because I can’t think of one reason why she wouldn’t.