Fox Executive Fired for Organizing Charity for Flight 370 Families: 'We Want to Give Them Immediate Relief,' Says Darlene Tipton
A Fox executive was fired for using the company email to organize fundraising efforts for the families of the missing passengers on Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which disappeared last month. Darlene Lieblich Tipton had been with Fox for 24 years before the incident.
The Fox executive's firing came because she emailed Sarah Bajc, whose boyfriend Phillip Wood had been on the flight March 8 and who has made numerous appearances on television to speak about the incident. Though Fox wasn't exactly clear about what Lieblich did wrong, they did say she violated company policy.
"The conduct and communications at issue were not authorized by Fox and were in violation of company policy," Fox spokesman Scott Grogin said in a statement. "As soon as we became aware we took appropriate steps and, while we cannot discuss the particulars, we can tell you the employee is no longer with the company."
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Tipton plans on suing Fox for wrongful termination, but is more focused currently on her fundraising efforts. She hopes to spare them a long and painful legal battle and give them support right away.
"We want to raise money for families, to give them immediate relief," she told the Associated Press Saturday. "Otherwise, they could be in court for years."
Once the relatives of the missing passengers accept the gifts and donations, though, they would have to waive their right to receive legal compensation.
"If they're getting money through contributions, it isn't right for them to seek money through legal channels, too," Tipton explained.
Investigators are still searching for the remains of Flight 370, which was a Boeing 777 carrying 239 passengers from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
