“Well It Looks Like I'll Be Able To Wear Pants”: Fox News Personality Alludes To Fox's Sexist Dress Code Policy

On Fox News' The Five, co-host Kimberly Guilfyole inadvertently highlighted the network's sexist dress code when she said that she may be able to wear pants on the show's Iowa set because cameras won't get “a suitable shot for me there.”

On the January 27 edition of Fox News' The Five co-host Greg Gutfeld revealed the set that the co-hosts would use for their upcoming Iowa coverage. As the camera panned out to show the desk where the co-hosts would be seated, Guilfyole commented “Oh my god, well it looks Iike I'll be able to wear pants, because I'm not seeing a suitable shot for me there”:

Guilfoyle's comments highlight Fox's well know problem with sexism and scantily clad women. In 2013, Fox host Gretchen Carlson admitted that “pants were not allowed on Fox & Friends,” a show she co-hosted with two male co-hosts from 2006 until 2013. Journalist and author Gabriel Sherman also noted several other examples of Fox's dress code, notably by Fox News chairman and CEO Roger Ailes. On several occasions, Ailes has made sexist comments about female reporters legs, including, “I did not spend x-number of dollars on a glass desk for her to wear pant suits,” and “move that damn laptop, I can't see her legs.” Sherman also wrote that Ailes even envisioned “the leg” being an important part of The Five's creation explaining the show needs a leading man, a serious lead, a court jester, a Falstaff, and “the leg”:

Years later at Fox News, Ailes would talk fondly about his theatrical experience. “Whenever he can, he gets into the conversation that he produced Hot l Baltimore,” a senior Fox executive said. Creating the Fox News afternoon show The Five, Ailes found his inspiration on the stage. “He said, 'I've always wanted to do an ensemble concept,'” a close friend said. “He said, 'I wanted a Falstaff, and that's Bob Beckel. I need a leading man, and it's Eric Bolling. I need a serious lead and that's Dana Perino. I need a court jester and it's Greg [Gutfeld], and I need the leg. That's Andrea Tantaros.”