There's no end in sight for the legal drama surrounding Tomi Lahren. The 24-year-old conservative host is being countersued by her former employer, Glenn Beck, and her former place of employment, The Blaze. The legal news website LawNewz.com obtained a copy of the counterclaim, which was submitted on Monday.
In the filing, the media firm argues that Lahren's "employment agreement with The Blaze remains in full force and effect, she continues to be employed (and paid) by The Blaze, and she has access to her social media accounts, as well as a Facebook page The Blaze created and maintains. In addition, Lahren attempts to portray her appearance on The View as the reason her relationship with TheBlaze is on the rocks. In reality, The Blaze has had employment issues with Lahren for well over a year."
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The filing goes on to say that Lahren was taken off air for reasons other than her pro-choice remarks. Some of the reasons include an alleged "inappropriate and unprofessional" behavior while on set.
At the same time, The Dallas Morning News reported that Lahren's lawyer submitted a new court filing earlier today saying the pundit should be free to speak up about Beck's "misconduct, which should be exposed for what it is." The filing doesn't provide further details about the alleged misconduct.
Lahren's filing also says that the host's Facebook page, which she alleges she's been locked out of by the company, is her "personal page." It goes on to emphasize that the host never provided her "extremely valuable ownership and property rights in either her name or likeness to anyone," including her former employer.
The tension between Lahren and Beck seems to have started last month. During an appearance on The View, the young pundit came under fire for suggesting that the government should not interfere with a woman's right to have an abortion.
"I can’t sit here and be a hypocrite and say I’m for limited government but I think the government should decide what women do with their bodies," she said then. "I can sit here and say that, as a Republican, and I can say, 'You know what? I’m for limited government, so stay out of my guns, and you can stay out of my body as well.'"
After the appearance, Lahren was suspended from her show indefinitely. She alleges the suspension was in retaliation for her pro-choice remarks.
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So earlier this month, Lahren sued Beck and The Blaze for wrongful termination, even though she's being paid until her contract runs out in September. (The network originally provided this information in a statement to The New York Times, and she confirmed it during an interview with ABC's Nightline last week.)
In the countersuit, Beck and The Blaze allege that by suing and giving interviews, Lahren has further breached her employment agreement with the company.
We've reached out to Lahren's lawyers and will update this post if we hear back.
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