Skip Bayless Lawsuit: What Is Joy Taylor Being Accused Of?

Fox Sports media personality and journalist Joy Taylor is among the defendants named in a lawsuit accusing Skip Bayless of sexual harassment, offering $1.5 million for sex and battery.

In the lawsuit, filed by former Fox Sports hairstylist Noushin Faraji, Taylor has been accused of being rewarded her role as the moderator on Undisputed because of her alleged sexual relationship with Fox Sports executive Charlie Dixon, even though she was married at the time. "Ms. Taylor told Ms. Faraji that she was recently wed but her husband remained in Miami and that she was lonely in Los Angeles," reads the suit.

Faraji has alleged that she became aware of Taylor's inappropriate relationship with Dixon in 2016 after the three of them went for cocktails. Taylor allegedly told Faraji that Dixon "was just a friend," but she said their body language and frequent meetings led her to suspect "the pair were sleeping each other." Faraji told Taylor that she believed the relationship was "unsafe" after she learned of his position at Fox Sports and "tried to distance herself," according to the lawsuit.

Bayless allegedly told Faraji that he didn't want Taylor on Undisputed because of her relative lack of experience at the time, but Dixon was "adamant" about her starring alongside Bayless and Shannon Sharpe. Faraji later attended a dinner with Taylor and her husband, where they were joined by Dixon and his wife, the suit alleges. During the dinner, Taylor's husband allegedly became suspicious of his wife's relationship with Dixon, which ultimately led to their divorce when he found evidence of the affair.

The following year, Faraji attended Taylor's birthday party in Hollywood, where she was allegedly groped by Dixon. When she told Taylor about the incident, Taylor told her to "get over it" and that she only had her job as a hairstylist because Taylor had specifically requested her, the suit states.

Several years into her tenure at Fox Sports, another former employee who was not named claimed she was leaving her role because Dixon refused to renew her contract unless she slept with him, according to the suit. After the meeting, Faraji told Taylor about the accusations and she responded, "no one gives a fuck" about the anonymous individual's role at the company, the lawsuit states.

In 2018, Taylor was engaged to someone not named in the lawsuit—former NBA star and current assistant coach Earl Watson—who reportedly broke off their engagement after learning of her alleged affair with Dixon. According to the lawsuit, Watson threatened to go public with the claims, but Dixon "paid for the wedding deposits in an informal exchange for her fiancé's silence."

Faraji also claimed that she met with Taylor for lunch in February 2020, and when she got there she was also greeted by former NFL player and FS1 analyst Emmanuel Acho. "Ms. Faraji did not know Mr. Acho but could tell that the two were romantically involved," the lawsuit reads. Months after the meeting, she saw Acho at the Fox Sports offices. Faraji asked Taylor if he worked there, and she "confirmed and explained that she wanted Mr. Acho to eventually recommend her on the show Speak for Yourself," states the suit. Faraji told her that it was probably not good idea for her to be romantically involved with both Dixon and Acho, but she "told her not to worry about it," according to the lawsuit.

"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," the lawsuit alleges. "She would not allow herself to be forced out by Mr. Dixon like other women talent."

Faraji and Taylor's friendship became increasingly strained, which eventually led to Taylor insulting her English and claiming that she could not understand her Persian accent, the suit states. Taylor has been accused of workplace bullying, which culminated in Faraji being let go from her role as a hairstylist. She also allegedly threatened to get her fired if she went public about Dixon's behavior or their sexual relationship.

The 42-page lawsuit, first reviewed by Front Office Sports, details some of the alleged workplace misconduct that Faraji was subjected to during her time at Fox Sports from 2012 to August 2024. Fox Corporation, Fox Sports Holdings, Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, Fox Sports Productions, Charlie Dixon, Skip Bayless, and Joy Taylor are named as the defendants in the lawsuit.