Jennifer Eckhart, a former producer for Fox News who filed a high-profile lawsuit accusing anchor Ed Henry of sexual assault, died by suicide at her home in Hobe Sound, Florida, over the weekend. She was 36 years old. Authorities confirmed her death on Monday, with a spokesperson for the Martin County Sheriff’s office verifying the information to the Daily Mail. TMZ first reported the news, citing law enforcement sources who stated Eckhart’s death was a suicide.
"My hope is that this show will inspire anyone who wants to reinvent themselves to take that first step… to let every person out there know it is never too late to reinvent your life" Jennifer Eckhart, Podcast Host.
According to an incident report obtained by TMZ, Eckhart’s mother discovered her daughter’s body in the master bedroom bathtub on Monday morning. Sources also indicated that a knife was found near the scene. Paramedics and officers responded to the residence, and Eckhart was pronounced dead at 11:57 a.m. Local authorities have not yet released additional details regarding the circumstances surrounding her death.
Eckhart’s name became widely recognized in 2020 when she filed a civil lawsuit against Ed Henry, then a prominent anchor at Fox News. The lawsuit alleged that Henry raped her during an encounter at a Manhattan hotel in 2017. Her filing described "sadistic acts on her without her consent that left her injured, bruised and battered with bloody wrists." The complaint also included screenshots of text messages in which Henry allegedly used derogatory terms and demanded specific sexual acts.
The allegations triggered immediate repercussions within Fox News. The network suspended Henry on the same day the lawsuit was filed. Within a week, he was terminated from his position following an internal investigation conducted by outside counsel. At the time, Fox News issued a statement asserting the company "took swift action as soon as it learned of Ms. Eckhart’s claims," confirming Henry’s employment ended as of July 1, 2020. Ed Henry, now 55 and serving as a top anchor at Newsmax, has consistently denied Eckhart’s allegations, characterizing his relationship with her as entirely consensual.
Beyond the specific rape allegation, Eckhart’s lawsuit leveled additional charges against Henry, including sex trafficking, sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and fostering a hostile workplace environment. After nearly five years of litigation, the case was resolved through a confidential settlement in June 2025, just one day before it was scheduled to proceed to trial. The financial terms of this resolution have never been made public and remain unknown.
Eckhart also pursued a separate legal avenue, filing an appeal against Fox News directly. She argued that the network had prior knowledge of Henry’s alleged misconduct and failed to intervene on her behalf to protect her. This effort concluded in March when a three-judge panel on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against her. The appellate judges concluded that Eckhart had not presented sufficient evidence to demonstrate that "Fox knew of Henry’s conduct towards her." They further found that she failed to prove the network’s response to her complaint fell short of "appropriate corrective action." The dismissed appeal had invoked a New York City civil rights statute designed to protect employees from workplace harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.
In the years following her departure from Fox News, Eckhart sought to reinvent her professional life. In 2021, she launched "REINVENTED with Jen Eckhart," a podcast focused on exploring what she termed the human condition through various conversations. Speaking with Variety when the podcast debuted, Eckhart reflected on the universal theme of starting anew. "Reinventing yourself, whether personally or professionally, is something so many of us can relate to," she stated. She also expressed a broader aspiration for her audience, hoping the show would inspire others. "My hope is that this show will inspire anyone who wants to reinvent themselves to take that first step… to let every person out there know it is never too late to reinvent your life," Eckhart said. She also noted the sense of independence podcasting offered compared to her previous career. "I did not have an immediate desire to run back into the arms of corporate media… I’m not beholden to any investor or network," she told Variety. Her guest list included notable figures such as rapper Sean Paul, wrestling star Chris Jericho, and Gretchen Carlson, another former Fox News personality known for her 2016 sexual harassment lawsuit against then-chairman Roger Ailes, which settled for $20 million.
Eckhart uploaded her final podcast episode in March, shortly after the appellate court’s decision to dismiss her case against Fox News. Before her tenure at Fox News, Eckhart built her broadcasting career in Florida, her home state, working as an ESPN Radio correspondent and later anchoring for WUFT-TV, a PBS affiliate in Gainesville. The tragic end to Jennifer Eckhart’s life comes after years of legal battles and a public profile centered on her allegations and subsequent efforts to rebuild her career.
