According to The Big Lead, a former ESPN makeup artist file complaint against ESPN accusing the great Chris Berman of sexual harassment. It gets better, with said the woman was having an affair with the great Cris Carter.
The former ESPN makeup artist, Sue Baumann, was represented by the office of high profile lawyer Gloria Allred. A person familiar with the matter told The Big Lead that there were allegations against Berman – including comments he allegedly made in the makeup room and text messages going back a few years – and ESPN decided to settle. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the claims.
In a statement to The Big Lead, ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz said: “Our thorough investigation revealed the harassment claims had no merit. We settled it solely to save a considerable amount of time and litigation costs.”
Allred replied to an email query with “no comment.” Berman’s agent didn’t reply to phone calls or emails.
The story of how the claim came to be traces back to one of ESPN’s most popular TV shows, Sunday NFL Countdown.
Baumann, who is in her mid-40s, worked for ESPN almost eight-years as an independent contracted makeup artist.
After two years at ESPN, she was a regular for the ESPN Countdown crew which features Tom Jackson, Mike Ditka, and Cris Carter among others. Baumann became the main makeup person for the show for five years, traveling with them to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii and the Super Bowl.
In 2013, an alleged affair occurred between Baumann and Carter, with the the two eventually telling a senior-level ESPN staffer.
It gets worse, as Baumann’s husband found out, and started making huge trouble at the network, so much that ESPN hired private investigators.
In 2013, a relationship occurred between Baumann and Carter, the Hall of Fame wide receiver. Eventually, the two disclosed the relationship to a senior-level ESPN staffer. According to records obtained by The Big Lead, police were called to Baumann’s house twice in early 2013, once because two private investigators showed up claiming to have been “hired by ESPN.” The private investigators told Baumann’s husband to stop “calling and harassing an employee at ESPN.” Here’s the police report:
That employee was Cris Carter, two people close to the situation told The Big Lead. The Baumanns’ marriage broke up and they are divorced.
Carter’s agent Maury Gostfrand couldn’t be reached for comment.
Early in the summer of 2015, Baumann was fired by the company that contracted her work to ESPN. The owner of the makeup company that fired Baumann, Leslie Atiles, did not return a call or email seeking comment.
According to The Big Lead, only after Baumann was fired, did those harassment claims against Berman come to light.
One person close to the situation said some text messages dating back to 2011 were an issue, and ESPN’s senior coordinating producer for Countdown, Seth Markman, had been made aware of some of them by Baumann’s husband.
Wow!
You can view the Baumann household incident report below: