Former Fox News star Gretchen Carlson will host Today show in return to television for first time as anchor since her $20million sexual harassment suit against ex-boss Roger Ailes  

  • Gretchen Carlson will host the 9am hour of NBC's Today show on Tuesday
  • Carlson returns to TV as an anchor for the first time since suing her former boss and Fox News in July
  • The network settled the lawsuit, paying Carlson $20million
  • Carlson alleged that Fox News chief Roger Ailes declined to renew her contract after she refused his sexual advances 

Former Fox News personality Gretchen Carlson tweeted on Friday that she will guest host NBC’s Today show next week – the first time she will appear as an anchor on national television since she sued her former boss for sexual harassment.

“Excited to be guest hosting the 9am hour of the @TODAYshow Tues Jan 3rd,”Carlson wrote on Twitter. “Pls join me on NBC for announcements! #newyear #2017 #nevergiveup”

Carlson, 50, is best known for her work as host of Fox News Channel’s morning show, Fox & Friends, which she anchored from 2005 until 2013.

The network then launched a new program called The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson.

Former Fox News personality Gretchen Carlson tweeted (above) on Friday that she will guest host NBC’s Today show next week

Her 11-year stint with the network ended unceremoniously earlier this year when her contract expired.

Carlson alleged that her refusal to have a sexual relationship with her boss, Roger Ailes, was why the network opted not to renew her deal.

In July, Carlson sued Ailes and the network for sexual harassment.

After the network initially vowed to fight the lawsuit claiming that Carlson’s contract wasn’t renewed because of poor ratings, the two sides eventually settled for $20million.

After Carlson made her allegation, six other women came forward and complained that Ailes demanded sexual favors from them in return for job opportunities.

Carlson (left) returns to TV as an anchor for the first time since suing her former boss, ex-Fox News chief Roger Ailes (right), and the network for sexual harassment in July

On July 21, Ailes resigned from Fox News after receiving $40million in an agreement with the network’s owners, the Murdoch family.

Carlson gave an interview last month to ABC’s 20/20 in which she offered grim details of harassment and assault she suffered at the hands of male television executives at the start of her career.

Having just been crowned Miss America in 1989, Carlson was approached by one TV executive about a possible job.

'It was a shocking experience because with this particular man he spent most of the day helping me and I thought, "wow this guy is being so nice,"' said Carlson.

Carlson (seen above during an interview with ABC's 20/20 last month) filed the suit against Ailes, alleging that he declined to renew her contract because she refused his advances

'We went to dinner and we were in the backseat of the car going to my friend's college apartment at the end of the evening and before I knew it he was one top of me and his tongue was down my throat.'

She then grew emotional as she described rushing out of the car and being inconsolable, vowing to never speak to that man again in her life.

Things got even worse though soon after during a trip to Hollywood.

'A couple of weeks later the same thing happened to me again in Los Angeles,' said Carlson. 

'A very high-powered PR executive, and again we were in a car, and he grabbed my head and my neck and he shoved my face into his crotch so forcefully that I couldn't breathe.' 

Since the suit, Carlson has publicly advocated that more be done to combat sexual harassment in the workplace (Carlson is seen above after being crowned Miss America in 1989)

Carlson said she thought to herself in that moment: 'Is this happening to me again?'

She also said that she felt that it was her fault in some ways, and feared that people would not believe her story. 

'I don't think we should judge women if they have waited because look at how we react to women when the finally do come forward,' said Carlson. 

'We have to make it a safer environment so it is no longer he said, she said, but maybe just she said.' 

Since the lawsuit, Carlson is now waging a public campaign to raise awareness against sexual harassment. 

In a poignant op-ed which she wrote for The New York Times, she called on men to join the fight. 

'The most important part of this, in my mind, is men and women working together. This is not only a women’s issue. It’s a societal issue,' wrote Carlson. 

Carlson said that she had been dealing with many sleepless nights since the lawsuit.

'I want to do everything I can to end sexual harassment in the workplace. I didn’t expect to be cast in this role,' wrote Carlson. 

'But as a result of the news reports concerning my departure from Fox News, letters, emails and texts from victims of harassment have poured in to me, and I can’t turn away.' 

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