A fired Detroit TV news anchor was caught on video calling her boss a “bitch” during a heated newsroom confrontation — before fuming that she was “so done with her antics” and complaining that the woman was “telling on me every five seconds.”
The anchor, Taryn Asher, was recording the PSA when the tense newsroom exchange unfolded at WJBK-TV Fox 2 Detroit, where she was pulled from the air in November of last year.
Asher is now suing the station for sex discrimination and retaliation, while Fox claims her removal followed “unprofessional workplace behavior” and “outbursts.”
Taryn Asher called her boss a “bitch” as a dispute over scripts escalated during the recording of a public service announcement. Fox 2
The video, first flagged by FTVLive and Deadline Detroit, shows Asher apparently responding to someone off-camera as a dispute develops over scripts and the workflow surrounding the recording.
“I am. I’m in Amy’s script, the Amy’s Angels one,” Asher says.
“There was—the second thing didn’t make sense, so I was just trying to fix that part and…”
“I know, but I didn’t have time because we have to do this, so I was still reading it,” she continues.
Asher then complains about having to wait for scripts to be reviewed while she is preparing to go on camera.
The longtime Detroit anchor snapped “What the f–k. Grow up” during the tense exchange at Fox 2. Fox 2
“See, I mean, I can’t wait for you to go through them all and then I go through them, because then I’m already getting ready by then,” she says.
“But this time we had to do the PSAs, so…”
The exchange then turns nasty.
“I don’t think you are. You’re walking out really angry,” Asher says.
“Bitch.”
Asher fumed that she was “so done with her antics” and complained that her boss was “telling on me every five seconds.” Fox 2
Moments later, Asher says: “Can I please finish what I’m going to say?”
“What the f–k. Grow up.”
She then vents about the colleague: “I’m so done with her antics, telling on me every five seconds. I’m done.”
Fox says Asher was pulled from the air because of her conduct toward colleagues — not because she is a woman or because she complained about discrimination.
In its Aug. 14 response to Asher’s lawsuit, Fox said multiple employees complained about her behavior in the week before she was placed on paid leave on Nov. 5.
The station alleged Asher shouted at employees over guest-interview assignments, repeatedly used profanity toward colleagues and had “confrontational and disrespectful interactions” with other staffers.
The confrontation erupted as Asher complained that she could not wait for colleagues to finish reviewing scripts while she was getting ready for the broadcast. Fox 2
Fox also accused Asher of confronting an employee she believed had complained about her to management.
The station specifically disputed Asher’s account of a fight over guest interviews, saying she frequently failed to attend editorial meetings where assignments were discussed despite being encouraged — and sometimes requested — to attend.
Fox cited an Oct. 30 incident in which it claims Asher mistakenly believed her male co-anchor, Roop Raj, had been assigned an interview that she had booked.
The newsroom video has surfaced as Fox alleges Asher was taken off the air over “repeated outbursts in the newsroom and multiple instances of unprofessional conduct with her colleagues.” Fox 2
The station said the interview had actually been assigned to Asher all along, but alleged she subsequently spoke in a raised voice and at times shouted at two colleagues over the mix-up.
Tensions allegedly boiled over again during election coverage on Nov. 4, according to Fox.
The station acknowledged that producers initially assigned Raj both guest interviews during the 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. newscasts, but said the producers made those decisions independently and had not coordinated the assignments beforehand.
Fox said one of the interviews was subsequently reassigned to Asher, who then confronted Raj and accused him of receiving preferential treatment.
Taryn Asher, second from right, filed a federal lawsuit against her former station, Fox 2 Detroit, for sexual discrimination. Linkedin / Taryn Asher
Asher told Raj words to the effect of, “You don’t own politics,” according to Fox’s filing.
The following day, Fox placed Asher on paid leave while it investigated complaints about her behavior.
Fox acknowledged that Raj spoke to human resources around the same time and said he believed Asher was “jealous” of him and appeared to have an issue with “men versus women.”
After its investigation, Fox said management told Asher on Nov. 21 that she would not return because of her “repeated outbursts in the newsroom and multiple instances of unprofessional conduct with her colleagues.”
Asher is suing Fox Television Stations and WJBK-TV’s owner, alleging sex discrimination and retaliation after she complained about unequal treatment. Linkedin / Taryn Asher
Asher flatly denies engaging in “outbursts” or unprofessional conduct warranting discipline or termination and alleges Fox retaliated against her for complaining about sex discrimination.
Her lawsuit also claims the station treated male employees accused of misconduct more leniently than it treated her — allegations Fox disputes.
Asher is suing Fox Television Stations and New World Communications of Detroit, the owner and operator of WJBK-TV, alleging sex discrimination and retaliation under federal and Michigan civil-rights laws.
The Post has sought comment from Asher and Fox 2.
