Ex-Fox News contributor alleges she was raped by host Charles Payne, sues network

In a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Federal court, political commentator Scottie Nell Hughes said she was raped by veteran Fox Business anchor Charles Payne — and then suffered retaliation from the network when she reported it.

Hughes’ lawsuit accused the network of “victim-shaming” and leaking false information to the press that suggested Hughes and Payne had a consensual affair when she first reported the alleged attacks.

According to court papers, Hughes, 37, met Payne, anchor of “Making Money,” in 2013 and was invited to appear on his show numerous times.

In July 2013, while in New York for a Fox program, Payne “pressured his way into Ms. Hughes’s hotel room for a ‘private discussion.’”

It was then that Payne raped her, the lawsuit alleged.

Hughes was “shocked and ashamed,” the suit said, and didn’t report it.

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