The right-wing media company Newsmax Media is accused of having “allowed” its pushy boss to sexually harass guests and employees

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A broadcast engineer at the Trump-friendly cable channel Newsmax behaved inappropriately toward female guests and his own subordinate, without any consequences from the station’s bosses.

This is the result of a sensational lawsuit received from The Independentalleging that John Belthoff conducted “a campaign of severe and pervasive sexual harassment” that was enabled by the right-leaning network. Newsmax “created and permitted a hostile work environment in which male supervisors could sexually harass lower-level female employees,” the suit says. It also accuses Newsmax of “aiding and abetting” the inappropriate behavior and claims that several guests on the network’s shows have complained of disturbing interactions with Belthoff.

In one instance described in the lawsuit, Belthoff allegedly made a vulgar remark to a female guest while miking her for sound: “I’ll put my whole fist up your shirt.” In another offensive incident, Belthoff is accused of vulgarly offering to examine a female guest for a hernia while reaching up her dress with a microphone before she went on the air.

“I have no comment,” said 62-year-old Belthoff The Independent in a short phone conversation on Tuesday. “Thank you for your call.”

“We take all allegations of this nature extremely seriously and are committed to providing a safe and respectful workplace for all employees,” Newsmax spokesman Bill Daddi said in an email. “We believe this matter was handled properly by the company.”

Daddi did not elaborate on how the situation was handled, but confirmed that Belthoff remains employed by the network, even though his LinkedIn profile and professional website make no reference to Newsmax.

Meanwhile, Belthoff’s accuser, 26-year-old Mia Louis Jeune, says her hours were cut to zero after she complained to Newsmax executives about his advances.

Jeune’s attorney, Reyna Lubin, said it was a “courageous decision” by her client to fight back against Newsmax. Belthoff’s alleged harassment began almost immediately, and when Jeune complained, “she was removed from the weekly schedule and was no longer welcome in the workplace,” Lubin said. The Independentand added: “Sexual harassment in the workplace will not be tolerated.”

In 2021 Newsmax came under fire because it allegedly provides a “haven” for sexual harassers, including powerful men accused of everything from harassment to rape. Last year, numerous Newsmax employees accused the network’s vice president,of pervasive sexual harassment. Newsmax was also criticized last year for hiring Ed Henrya former Fox News anchor who was fired in 2020 following allegations of sexual misconduct.

The latest lawsuit comes at a particularly bad time for Newsmax, which is fighting billion-dollar lawsuits. Defamation lawsuits of the two largest Voting machine manufacturers after the station parroted former President Donald Trump’s false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Newsmax has already forced to apologize publicly to the director of product strategy and security at Dominion Voting Systems after it aired completely debunked conspiracy theories alleging that he helped give Joe Biden the presidency, resulting in targeted harassment and death threats.

The allegations against Belthoff are contained in a July 2 lawsuit filed by plaintiff Mia Louis Jeune, a singer-songwriter and sound engineer who began a job at Newsmax in November 2023.

“Shortly after Ms. Jeune began work, her supervisor, John Belthoff, began a campaign of severe and pervasive sexual harassment against her,” Jeune’s lawsuit states. “Belthoff repeatedly texted and called Ms. Jeune to sexually harass her and physically isolate her from her coworkers in order to make offensive and unwelcome sexual advances toward her.”

About a week into her new job, the lawsuit says, Belthoff, 62, of New Jersey, emailed Jeune a screenshot of her horoscope. It read: “Someone you’re attracted to may be playing the hard-to-reach person, but if you keep at it, they’ll eventually cave. They may be afraid to show you that they’re as in love with you as you are with them. Passion can be a problematic thing.”

Later that same day, the lawsuit states, “Belthoff sent Ms. Jeune a text message saying, ‘I think I’m the guy from your horoscope.'”

Things only got worse from there, Jeune’s lawsuit says. When Belthoff called Jeune on one of her days off and told her he believed the two had “a special connection,” Jeune disappointed the older man’s expectations, according to the lawsuit.

“To be clear, I am not interested in anything romantic or sexual,” Jeune replied, the lawsuit states. “I am just here to work.”

Apparently undeterred, Belthoff told Jeune that “borders are bullshit.”

“You’re confused,” he said, according to the lawsuit. “You’re nervous. You’re defensive. Don’t get all crazy and yell at me. I’m going to make you do things you may not want to do. It’s up to you to do them. Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you.”

The next day, Belthoff told Jeune that if the two didn’t work together, he would “put her in a hotel room,” adding, “If it happens, it happens,” the lawsuit says.

After another unwanted advance from Belthoff, Jeune reported him to Newsmax’s human resources department after he had only been on the job for three weeks, according to the lawsuit.

But Belthoff became angry with Jeune for exposing the matter, the lawsuit says. He “demanded that Ms. Jeune withdraw her complaint … regarding his sexually harassing conduct,” which Newsmax tacitly allowed, according to Jeune. Human resources “discouraged (Jeune) from collecting evidence of the harassment,” the lawsuit says.

“In addition, Newsmax permitted Belthoff to sexually harass and assault guests on his show,” Jeune’s lawsuit continues. “On one occasion, when Belthoff was handing a microphone to a female guest, Ms. Jeune observed him tell the guest, ‘I could put my whole fist up your shirt, but I’ll leave the honor to you.’ On another occasion, a female guest informed and warned Ms. Jeune that Mr. Belthoff had slipped his hand under the guest’s dress to hand her a microphone. While his hand was under her dress, Belthoff told the female guest to ‘turn her head to the left and cough.'”

For its part, Newsmax “failed to respond to any of Ms. Jeune’s reports despite her attempts to follow up,” says the lawsuit, which criticizes Newsmax for its alleged pattern of inaction. In addition, after Jeune complained, she was “removed from the schedule and never invited back to work at Newsmax,” the lawsuit says.

Lubin said Wednesday that she and her co-counsel Eric Baum “look forward to advocating for justice on Jeune’s behalf.”

Jeune’s lawsuit seeks a trial award for damages and a court order requiring Newsmax to “develop, implement, publicize and maintain a policy that requires the training of each and every employee regarding the civil rights of employees in the workplace, including, but not limited to, gender and sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation.”