Fox Sports 1
Joy Taylor is out at Fox Sports 1 decided not to renew her contract. The decision comes with the news that the network is canceling three shows, including Taylor’s Speak and Emmanuel Acho’s The Facility alongside LeSean McCoy.
According to the report from The Athletic‘s Andrew Marchand, the three shows were canceled because they “struggled to find a huge audience.” All three shows were created by Charlie Dixon, the Fox Sports exec that Joy Taylor was accused of having a romantic relationship to “advance her career”
In addition to Speak — which was co-hosted by former NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Taylor and Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce alongside Taylor — and The Facility, Fox Sports 1 has also cancelled Breakfast Ball, which was hosted by Craig Carton, Mark Schlereth and Danny Parkins.
“Colin Cowherd’s The Herd, which begins at noon (ET), and First Things First with Nick Wright, Chris Broussard and Kevin Wildes at 3 p.m. (ET), will continue in their time slots. FS1 will likely produce new shows in place of the cancellations.” [via The Athletic]
Joy Taylor’s contract at Fox Sports 1 not renewed following allegations of sleeping with execs to advance her career
Earlier this year, former Fox Sports 1 employee Noushin Faraji filed a lawsuit alleging that Joy Taylor engaged in sexual relationships with Emmanuel Acho and Fox Sports executive Charlie Dixon to advance her career. Faraji, a make-up artist, was accusing Dixon of sexual battery and alleged that Taylor told Faraji “to get over it.”
Faraji, who was employed at FS1 from 2012 to 2024, accused FOX Sports EVP Charlie Dixon grabbed her buttocks at a birthday part, while also alleging that Skip Bayless offered her $1.5 million to sleep with him.
After Acho and Taylor were named in Faraji’s lawsuit, a handful of Acho’s old social media posts about Taylor — many of them eagerly celebratory — went viral due to their new added context.
Happy Birthday to my brilliant co host, my homie and my friend @JoyTaylorTalks! It’s a pleasure and honor to work with you daily.
Y’all go show her some love!! 🥳 🎉 pic.twitter.com/xQgXEG9CqK
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) January 17, 2023
Them: What’s it like working with @JoyTaylorTalks ??
Me: pic.twitter.com/AMHPzkb83Q
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) June 6, 2023
“She was blowing his socks off man,” a viral post quote tweeting one of Acho’s videos of Taylor joked.
Around the time the lawsuit against Dixon and Fox Sports 1 went public, fellow sports media bombshell Taylor Rooks quietly stepped away from the podcast that the pair were hosting together.
Despite the slew of allegations against the 38-year-old Taylor, she survived the controversy and remained at the network up until this point. Now, however, Fox Sports 1 elected not to renew her contract after she had been with the network for nearly a decade, joining the Fox subsidiary in 2016.
As for Acho, while he was not accused of anything outside of the Taylor allegations, he’s also long been a divisive personality at the network due to his general annoyingness and contrived hot-takery.