Tomi Lahren Files Lawsuit Against Glenn Beck And ‘The Blaze’
Tomi Lahren is suing Glenn Beck and the Dallas-based TheBlaze media network for wrongful termination.
A non-compete clause and access to her Facebook page may go to the heart of the legal dispute.
Lahren, 24, famously and abruptly lost her TheBlaze TV gig when she revealed her pro-choice leanings on The View, which created a firestorm. Apparently this is a flip-flop from her earlier pro-life pronouncements and which evidently led to her permanent ban by the Beck channel.
“I’m for limited government, so stay out of my guns, and you can stay out of my body as well,” Lahren told The View ladies on March 17, suggesting that pro-lifers are hypocrites.
Tomi Lahren’s legal filing against Beck and company, in which she claims, among other things, that she was fired for expressing a pro-choice view in violation of her employment contract, was first reported by the Dallas Morning News.
“According to Lahren’s lawsuit, filed Friday in Dallas County, The Blaze cancelled Lahren’s show after she made the controversial abortion statements last month on The View. But The Blaze wanted to keep paying Lahren, the suit says, ‘presumably hoping they could find an exit strategy to sanitize their unlawful conduct’ in breaking Lahren’s two-year employment contract, which was to continue through Sept. 30.”
If accurate, Lahren would apparently have collected a paycheck for five months or so without having to do any work at The Blaze.
“Tomi has a contract with TheBlaze which lists grounds for termination, and the basis for her termination is not authorized by her deal,” TMZ noted about the wrongful firing claim.
#Breaking: Tomi Lahren sues @glennbeck , The Blaze for wrongful termination | @NaomiMartin https://t.co/URs8KwJhcR
— Dallas Morning News (@dallasnews) April 7, 2017
According to the attorney for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, graduate, Tomi Lahren wants to resume her online activity and seek another media industry position. “She’s like an eagle that feels like its had its wings clipped. She’s ready to pursue her career and reconnect with her millions of followers.”
In a statement to TMZ, a company spokesperson insisted that “It is puzzling than an employee who remains under contract (and is still being paid) has sued us for being fired, especially when we continue to comply fully with the terms of our agreement with her.”
When she went to work for the TheBlaze, the popular conservative firebrand and free-speech advocate apparently gave the company her Facebook password, which turned out to be a bad idea. “The suit also says that TheBlaze won’t allow Lahren access to her Facebook page, where she has 4.2 million followers, which has ‘irreparably harmed’ Lahren.”
The irreparable harm language is legalese typically included to support a request for a court injunction.
“She wants to retroactively cancel her contract — a likely sign the company won’t let her work for a competitor before the term expires — and she’s asking the court for a temporary restraining order that will grant her immediate and complete control of her Facebook page and other social media accounts,” The Hollywood Reporter explained about the breach-of-contract lawsuit filed by Tomi Lahren.
Lahren’s last Facebook post occurred on March 19, and TheBlaze execs allegedly ordered her to go dark on social media, although she did issue this tweet today to her 691,000 Twitter followers.
Lay down and play dead really isn't my style. #FinalThoughts
— Tomi Lahren (@TomiLahren) April 7, 2017
A South Dakota native, the former One America News Network anchor essentially became an overnight sensation in July, 2015, when a video of her calling out President Obama for lack of leadership in fighting terrorism following the Chattanooga murder of four U.S. Marines and one U.S. Navy sailor went viral.
Although the circumstances of Tomi Lahren’s exit from TheBlaze are obviously unusual, that she is moving on from Glenn Beck’s company should really come as no surprise. As the Inquisitr reported in January, Lahren revealed that she’s no fan of the Dallas area and expressed a desire to relocate to New York City or another media hub, particularly given that her contract was due to expire in the fall of 2017 anyway.
“Lahren, whose contract runs until September 30, was already on her way out before her appearance on The View, sources with direct knowledge of the situation have told The Daily Caller. Lahren frequently clashed with her coworkers, sources say, in part because of her inflammatory style,” The Daily Caller claimed.
Tomi Lahren’s legal filing also seemed to suggest that Glenn Beck is an opportunist in the controversy, the Dallas Morning News added.
“The hubbub surrounding Lahren’s comments was ‘a public smear campaign’ orchestrated to ‘inflate Beck’s profile, from what has become a mediocre following, all at [Lahren’s] expense,’ the suit alleges.”
Glenn Beck’s network reportedly lost a significant amount of market share and traffic to its web portal once he went full-on #NeverTrump. Tomi Lahren is a President Trump supporter.
[Featured Image by Colin Young-Wolff/Invision/AP Images]
