Fox 2 News Anchor Fired: Taryn Asher’s Federal Suit and Demands

Former Fox 2 Detroit lead evening anchor Taryn Asher filed a federal lawsuit against the station on June 3, 2026, alleging she was fired in retaliation for complaining about sex-based favoritism toward her male co-anchor. The Taryn Asher lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, names Fox Television Stations, LLC and New World Communications of Detroit (the entity operating WJBK-TV) as defendants and brings claims of sex discrimination and unlawful retaliation.¹

What Asher Says Happened at Fox 2

Asher spent 18 years at WJBK-TV and was promoted to lead evening anchor in 2022, handling the 5, 6, 10, and 11 p.m. broadcasts.² According to her complaint, the tension began in July 2025, when Paul McGonagle was hired as general manager. She alleges that under McGonagle, her co-anchor Roop Raj received the majority of guest-interview segments, more favorable schedule accommodations, and was left out of loop with her on election coverage planning.³

One example featured in the complaint: Raj was allowed to adjust his evening news schedule to host a separate program, “The Pulse.” When management floated a rebooted “Let It Rip” for Asher, she was not offered equivalent flexibility, and the reboot was shelved.³

Asher says she raised the disparity internally in September 2025 during a meeting with McGonagle and Assistant News Director Sean Lee. She followed up in October with an email to McGonagle stating she was “concerned about the lack of balance and equity, particularly compared to my co-anchor who holds the same responsibilities but has a more accommodating schedule.” The lawsuit alleges nothing changed.³

Election Night and the Firing

The dispute broke open on election night, November 4, 2025. Asher says she and Raj had agreed to split guest-interview duties for the 5 and 6 p.m. broadcasts, but the final assignments handed Raj all of the guest segments. She complained to producers and to McGonagle. Later that evening, Fox’s HR director emailed her requesting a call.⁴

The next day she was placed on leave. The station cited “egregious behavior” in her newsroom communications and said she had appeared visibly upset on air after a production error. According to the complaint, Raj contacted HR that same day to call Asher “jealous” and to frame her complaints as a personal gender-based grievance.²

On November 14, Asher met with News Director Brooks Blanton and HR Director Dalina Hayes, with SAG-AFTRA representatives present. She denied any misconduct and reiterated her discrimination claims. A week later, on November 21, Blanton and Hayes told her by phone that it was her last day, citing “outbursts.”⁴

After her union attorney contacted Fox, the station changed course, saying she had not actually been fired but that her employment agreement would not be renewed, ending her tenure in June 2026. She was not permitted to return to work in the meantime. A formal termination letter went out on May 28, 2026, setting her final day as June 5.⁴

The Claims in the Federal Complaint

Asher filed a discrimination charge with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on March 16, 2026, received a right-to-sue letter on May 11, and filed her 26-page federal complaint on June 3.⁵⁴ The case, Asher v. Fox Television Stations, LLC et al (Case No. 2:26-cv-11820), is before U.S. District Judge Linda V. Parker, with Magistrate Judge Kimberly G. Altman as referral judge.⁶

The complaint centers on two theories. On sex discrimination, Asher alleges that after McGonagle’s arrival, female employees in leadership positions were terminated and replaced by men, and that Raj was favored over her in guest-interview assignments, scheduling, and election-coverage planning.² On retaliation, she alleges the investigation and firing were a direct response to her complaints about that treatment.

The complaint also alleges uneven discipline. Male employees accused of unprofessional or harassing conduct kept their jobs, Asher says, while she lost hers over complaints about her demeanor. As illustration, the filing notes Raj was suspended for two weeks after a 2012 DUI arrest, and that McGonagle himself was promoted following a DUI arrest at a different Fox station.⁷

Asher denies the “outbursts” Fox cited as its reason for the firing. Her attorney, Matt Turner of Sommers Schwartz in Southfield, called the station’s characterization “ridiculous.”² Co-counsel Tad Roumayah said in a public statement: “This is not a personality dispute. This case is about equal opportunity, retaliation, and whether a respected female journalist was punished after standing up for her civil rights.”³

The claims arise under federal and state law. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act bars sex-based employment decisions and protects employees from retaliation for complaining about discrimination; under the Supreme Court’s 2006 decision in Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. White, a retaliatory action is unlawful if it would dissuade a reasonable employee from making a complaint. Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act provides parallel state-level protection.⁸⁹

What Asher Is Asking For

The lawsuit seeks a money judgment covering past and future lost wages, lost benefits, damages for mental and emotional distress, compensation for loss of professional reputation, and punitive damages, plus costs and attorneys’ fees. No specific dollar figure appears in the complaint.²

Fox 2’s Position

Fox has not publicly addressed the merits of the allegations. A Fox spokesperson did not respond to the Detroit Free Press, and Raj and McGonagle did not respond to requests for comment from the Detroit News or Deadline Detroit.¹⁰ The station’s only previously reported position, delivered to Asher’s attorney in November 2025, was that she was being fired “because of her behavior in the newsroom.”²

Where the Case Stands

Both defendants waived formal service and have until August 14, 2026, to answer the complaint. No hearing dates have been set, and no motions have been filed beyond the initial complaint and procedural documents.⁶

1
Law360. Ex-Detroit News Anchor Files Sex Bias Claims Against Fox
2
Detroit News. Fired Fox 2 Detroit Anchor Taryn Asher Files Sex Discrimination Case
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ClickOnDetroit. Fired Fox 2 Anchor Taryn Asher Files Discrimination Lawsuit Against Former Employer Alleging Retaliation
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Metro Times. Fired Fox 2 Anchor Taryn Asher Sues Station Over Sex Discrimination and Retaliation
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Detroit Free Press. Taryn Asher Lawsuit Fox 2 Detroit Gender Discrimination
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PACER Monitor. Asher v Fox Television Stations, LLC et al
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New York Post. Former Detroit TV Anchor Files Sex Discrimination Lawsuit Against Old Station
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State Bar of Michigan. Increased Protections for Michigan Victims of Employment Retaliation for Asserting Civil Rights Claims
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Michigan Legal Help. Workplace Discrimination
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Deadline Detroit. Fired Fox 2 Anchor Taryn Asher Files Sex Discrimination Lawsuit Against Station