A leaked video showing a former Fox Television Station anchor engaging in a heated discussion with a newsroom colleague is drawing renewed interest in the anchor’s wrongful termination case against the broadcaster.
The video was filmed in 2023 and shows then-anchor Taryn Asher of WJBK (Channel 2, Fox) filming a promotional video for something connected to the Fox-owned station’s local newscast.
At some point during the video, a colleague interrupts the filming to inquire about Asher’s accessing of a script connected with the video in question. The exchange becomes tense after the colleague exits the studio before Asher could finish her remarks, prompting Asher to call her a “bitch” under her breath and complain that she was tired of the colleague’s antics.
According to two sources who spoke with The Desk, the colleague who interrupted Asher’s taping was the station’s Executive Producer for News Traci Kryscynski, who also goes by the name Traci Ditchie.
Prior to the exchange, Kryscynski was attempting to edit scripts associated with the newscast, the sources said. While reviewing a script filed by reporter Amy Andrews, she became locked out of making additional edits because Asher’s computer was accessing it for her taped segment.
Kryscynski entered the studio to ask why Asher was still working in Lange’s script, which prompted the exchange shown on video. The footage was retained by WJBK and Fox Television Stations after someone involved in the interaction made a complaint to station executives, which prompted an internal investigation and led to Asher’s brief suspension — but not her firing.
The footage received renewed attention after the website Deadline Detroit — not related to the Penske Media trade publication with similar branding — published an unedited copy of the exchange. The clip was used as part of a broader story into a response filed by Fox’s attorneys in an ongoing wrongful termination lawsuit launched by Asher earlier this year, months after she was fired for alleged unprofessional conduct. (The specific date of her termination is disputed by both sides.)
Mort Misner, an agent representing Asher on employment-related matters, referred The Desk to her attorney, Tad Roumayah, who said his client’s wrongful termination lawsuit is rooted in allegations of gender discrimination and retaliation over complaints about inequitable treatment.
“Fox’s own filing in response to Ms. Asher’s lawsuit admits that, before Fox removed her from the air and later fired her, Ms. Asher repeatedly raised internal concerns that she believed Fox treated male employees, including her male co-anchor, more favorably, including with respect to schedule flexibility and guest-interview opportunities,” Roumayah wrote. “The video being circulated now must be viewed within that context; it is taken out of context and does not tell the full story.”
While the video was initially published by a small local publication, it quickly amassed tens of thousands of views after TMZ reposted it on their social channels Tuesday morning. WJBK and TMZ are both owned by Fox.
“(The video) reflects an isolated moment from years ago that was resolved at the time and did not result in Ms. Asher’s termination,” Roumayah said. “The video is being raised publicly only now, after Ms. Asher filed a gender discrimination and retaliation lawsuit and after Fox responded to those claims in court.”
Roumayah noted the filing made by Fox’s attorneys this month “admits that multiple male employees accused of serious misconduct, both in and out of the workplace, were not terminated and, in some instances, were later promoted.”
“We believe Fox is now attempting to reframe Ms. Asher’s legally protected complaints of discrimination as ‘unprofessionalism.’ Ms. Asher denies engaging in any conduct that justified her termination, and we look forward to proving her gender discrimination and retaliation claims in federal court,” Roumayah said.
A spokesperson for Fox Corporation has not yet returned a request for comment.
