Fox Sports host Joy Taylor has been fired in a major network shakeup following months of behind-the-scenes controversy.
Taylor’s daily sports talk show, Speak, has been canceled and her contract has not been renewed after more than a decade with the network, according to The Athletic.
She had cohosted Speak since September 2022, most recently alongside former NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson and former NBA star Paul Pierce.
FS1 also canceled The Facility, hosted by former NFL players Emmanuel Acho, Chase Daniel, James Jones and LeSean McCoy, and Breakfast Ball, hosted by Craig Carton, Mark Schlereth and Danny Parkins.
All three shows struggled to find a huge audience, prompting the cancellations, per The Athletic.
Luxury Handbag Shopping has reached out to Fox Sports and Taylor for comment.
The cancellations come roughly six months after Taylor, 38, was named in a sexual assault and discrimination lawsuit also aimed at Fox Sports and former host Skip Bayless.
In the lawsuit, filed in January by former Fox Sports hairstylist Noushin Faraji, Taylor allegedly told Faraji to “get over it” when Faraji told her she had been groped at Taylor’s birthday party in 2017.
Faraji also accused Taylor of mocking her accent and complaining about Faraji’s humming, which the lawsuit called “an involuntary subconscious coping mechanism for [Faraji’s] diagnosed PTSD.”
Taylor denied all of the allegations in the lawsuit.
In a February statement to The Athletic, a spokeswoman for Taylor said including Taylor’s name in the lawsuit was a way to garner more media attention.
“The claims set forth against Ms. Taylor are devoid of merit and appear to have been strategically framed to create unwarranted publicity rather than to seek legitimate redress,” the spokeswoman said.
The spokeswoman added, “Ms. Taylor denies each and every allegation against her as set forth in Plaintiff’s Complaint to the extent they allege any wrongdoing, liability, or entitlement to relief.”
Bayless, 73, was accused of offering Faraji $1.5 million to have sex with him.
According to Faraji, Bayless would also give her “lingering hugs and kisses on the cheek while putting his body against hers and pressing against her breasts.”
A response filed by Bayless’ attorney said Faraji “consented, by words or conduct” to the alleged conduct. It also argued that Faraji was not entitled to recover damages “to the extent that any purported emotional distress or pain and suffering damages allegedly suffered by Plaintiff was caused by any pre-existing psychological or medical condition(s).”
