Resurfaced footage of Joy Taylor has gone viral, showing the embattled FS1 host detailing the obstacles she’s faced in a male-dominated industry.
‘You have to constantly reaffirm that you are good enough, that you belong there, and then always prove it,’ Taylor said in a year-old clip from the ‘I Am Athlete’ podcast. ‘You got to do twice the work for half the opportunity.’
The clip was shared by The Bill Simmons podcast account on X, where it quickly went viral following a bombshell hostile workplace lawsuit against Taylor, Fox, former FS1 host Skip Bayless and current network executive Charlie Dixon. The lawsuit was filed Friday in Los Angeles on behalf of hair stylist Noushin Faraji, who claims to have been sexually harassed by both Simmons and Dixon.
Taylor is accused of leveraging sexual relationships with ex-NFL star co-host Emmanuel Acho and Dixon to further her career, while discouraging Faraji against filing sexual-harassment complaints against men at Fox. Furthermore, Taylor allegedly schemed to protect her own job at the network by fabricating a sexual misconduct allegation against Dixon, a Fox Sports executive vice president in charge of talent.
It’s a dramatically different portrait of Taylor than the one she exuded in March of 2023 when speaking with ex-NFL stars LeSean McCoy and Brandon Marshall on the ‘I Am Athlete’ podcast: ‘To me, the mentality I’ve always had on it is that’s going to make me better, so that’s why I’m excellent. Because I had to be. I couldn’t be average. I couldn’t be OK. I couldn’t be late. I couldn’t complain. I couldn’t say ‘no.’ Now I do. (Laughs)’
Critics on X are now seeing Taylor’s comments in a new light, with many slamming the popular host of FS1’s ‘Speak’ over allegations of hypocrisy.
Resurfaced footage of Joy Taylor has gone viral, showing the embattled FS1 host detailing the obstacles she’s faced in a male-dominated industry
‘The most moralizing, hectoring nag in all of sports media exposed as a complete hypocrite lmao,’ wrote one angry viewer.
One critic called Taylor ‘insufferable’ while another claimed she has ‘no business in that industry.’
But Taylor had her defenders online as well.
‘To be honest, she knows sports,’ one fan wrote, echoing a belief shared by several others. ‘Her takes are better than a lotta dudes.’
One supportive commenter added: ‘it ain’t easy as a woman in a male dominated field.’
DailyMail.com has reached out to Taylor’s representatives and her foundation for comment. Attorneys for Bayless, Dixon and Taylor have not yet been provided to Los Angeles Superior Court.
Fox has released a brief statement, although Taylor, Bayless, and Acho have remained silent on the issue.
‘We take these allegations seriously and will allow the legal process to run its course,’ read the network statement. ‘We have no further comment at this time.’
Taylor, Dixon, former FS1 host Skip Bayless and the Fox Corporation are named on Faraji’s lawsuit, much of which focuses on allegations of sexual battery, negligent supervision, retaliation and other hostile workplace issues between 2012 and August of 2024.
Bayless is accused of offering $1.5million to Faraji for sex, while Dixon is accused of groping the stylist’s buttocks.
Taylor, herself, is accused of dismissing Faraji’s complaints about sexual harassment against Bayless and Dixon, telling the hair stylist to ‘get over it.’
But in addition to those allegations are Faraji’s claims that Taylor used sex to advance her career – first with Dixon and then with Acho.
Some defended Taylor online, while others accused her of hypocrisy for her past statements
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Joy Taylor (left) is seen sitting alongside Emmanuel Acho prior to an FS1 broadcast
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Former Fox host Skip Bayless, 73, is pictured with his wife of eight years, Ernestine Sclafani
With Dixon, Faraji began to suspect that he and Taylor were having an affair in 2016 despite both being married at the time.
‘In approximately May 2016, Ms. Taylor asked Ms. Faraji to meet for a drink in Santa Monica,’ read the lawsuit, obtained by DailyMail.com. ‘When Ms. Faraji arrived, she found Ms. Taylor with an older man, Fox Sport’s Executive Vice President of Content, Mr. Dixon. As Executive Vice President, Mr. Dixon is responsible for overseeing all content and production on FS1. Ms. Faraji, however, did not know Mr. Dixon.
From their body language, Ms. Faraji suspected that the pair were sleeping with each other, and although this concerned Ms. Faraji as she knew Ms. Taylor was recently married, Ms. Faraji kept her opinions to herself.’
Taylor was just a fill-in host at the time but was later added to the network in a full-time role. And according to Faraji, that decision was made at Dixon’s insistence over the objections of Bayless.
‘Mr. Bayless later disclosed to Ms. Faraji that he did not want Ms. Taylor on the show, but Mr. Dixon was adamant that Ms. Taylor should star,’ the filing reads. ‘At first, Mr. Dixon arranged a dinner between Mr. Bayless and Ms. Taylor where she arrived in provocative clothing and acted in a provocative manner. When that did not change Mr. Bayless’s opinion of Ms. Taylor, Mr. Dixon asked him to approve of her as a favor to him. Reluctantly, Mr. Bayless agreed to do so as a favor to his friend.’
Taylor would soon split with her husband, Richard Giannotti, who is not named in the suit.
And according to Faraji, it was because Taylor’s now-ex discovered proof of her infidelity.
‘Around August 2016, Ms. Faraji attended a dinner with Ms. Taylor and her husband and Mr. Dixon and his wife,’ the filing reads. ‘During the dinner, Ms. Taylor’s husband became suspicious that Ms. Taylor and Mr. Dixon were having a sexual relationship. Soon after the dinner, Ms. Taylor’s husband found evidence of the inappropriate relationship and divorced Ms. Taylor.’
Taylor is again accused of using ‘her sexuality to get on a show’ in 2020, when she sought a spot on Acho’s program.
‘Ms. Faraji did not know Mr. Acho but could tell that the two were romantically involved,’ the filing reads.
According to Faraji, Taylor all but admitted to having sex with Acho and dismissed talk of any jealousy by Dixon.
‘A few months after meeting Mr. Acho at the lunch, Ms. Faraji noticed him in the hallway while at work,’ the filing continues. ‘Ms. Faraji later asked Ms. Taylor if Mr. Acho also worked at Fox.
‘Ms. Taylor confirmed and explained that she wanted Mr. Acho to eventually recommend her on the show ‘Speak for Yourself.’
‘Ms. Faraji became alarmed and warned Ms. Taylor that she should probably not sleep with Mr. Dixon and Mr. Acho at the same time, as Mr. Dixon is a very powerful man that may become very angry. Ms. Taylor told her not to worry about it. She explained that she was also now powerful, and once Mr. Dixon was no longer useful to her, she would follow through on her plan to tell the company that he forced himself on her. She would not allow herself to be forced out by Mr. Dixon like other women talent.’