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Woman claims Fox News host Sean Hannity made 'creepy' advances towards her

Sean Hannity denies all claims made against him: Getty / Paul Zimmerman
Sean Hannity denies all claims made against him: Getty / Paul Zimmerman

Fox News television host Sean Hannity is the latest high profile male member of the network to face questions over his behaviour.

Debbie Schlussel, a lawyer and former Fox News guest, sparked the firestorm around the married conservative last week during a Tulsa, Oklahoma radio interview in which she was asked if anyone at the network had made her feel uncomfortable when she made appearances.

“Well, only by Sean Hannity, not by Bill O’Reilly,” she replied then in a nod to the recent sexual harassment scandal that cost Mr O’Reilly his prime time television slot at the network last week. Mr O'Reilly denies all allegations.

Ms Schlussel said that Mr Hannity had repeatedly invited her to go back with him to his hotel while he was staying in Detroit where the two were featured on a panel discussion. After she rejected his advances, she claims that he called her and yelled at her. She said it was made clear to her after the programme that she “wouldn't be back on his show.” She says she made two more appearances on Fox after that, one on Mr Hannity's show.

But, after the story received national attention, Ms Schlussel sought to clarify her comments and insisted that she did not think Mr Hannity’s actions constituted sexual harassment. While she thought his behaviour was “weird and creepy” she would never accuse him of sexual harassment because “sexual harassment has a special meaning under the law,” she said.

Mr Hannity, for his part, has adamantly denied the accusations and has called them fabrications.

“LET ME BE CLEAR THE COMMENTS ABOUT ME ON A RADIO SHOW THIS WEEK by this individual ARE 100 percent false and a complete fabrication,” Mr Hannity wrote in a statement regarding the allegations. “This individual is a serial harasser who has been lying about me for well over a decade. The individual has a history of making provably false statements against me in an effort to slander, smear and besmirch my reputation.”

Mr Hannity, who married his wife in 1993, also posted his thoughts on Twitter about the accusations. The conservative commentator appeared to relish the changing story that emerged from Ms Schlussel and bragged that he had hired "the best" slander lawyers to represent him.