FS1 ‘Sidelines’ Joy Taylor From ‘Speak’

Questions are rising about Joy Taylor’s status at Fox Sports’ FS1 network after she missed four straight days of hosting Speak this week.

Taylor missed the shows because she was “sidelined” by the network, sources told Front Office Sports. The apparent infraction that led Taylor to be off the program for at least four days was not immediately known. A spokesperson for Fox Sports declined to comment, and a spokesperson for Taylor did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Taylor, ex-FS1 personality Skip Bayless, and FS1 boss Charlie Dixon were among those named as defendants in a bombshell 42-page lawsuit by former Fox hairstylist Noushin Faraji in early January. 

After being accused of sexual misconduct in two lawsuits, Dixon was placed on leave by Fox before its telecast of Super Bowl LIX, according to The Athletic. Taylor, however, returned to host her weekday studio show with Keyshawn Johnson and Paul Pierce. She even took Speak on the road to New Orleans during Super Bowl week. (Bayless split with FS1 last August after eight years.)

But Taylor missed this week’s shows on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday with little explanation from her castmates other than Johnson informing viewers that she was out that day. 

Taylor has been around Los Angeles, where Speak tapes, since returning from vacation. She posted a photo with former FS1 host Alex Curry at the Lakers-Mavericks game on Tuesday night. 

Faraji accused Taylor of harassment on the basis of ethnicity. Both Taylor and Bayless strongly denied the allegations made against them in Faraji’s lawsuit. Fox attorneys have asked for the case to be dismissed in its entirety. 

In her legal response, Taylor denied “each and every allegation against her.” A spokeswoman for Taylor told The Athletic that Faraji added the host and podcaster to the lawsuit only to leverage media attention. 

“The claims set forth against Ms. Taylor are devoid of merit and appear to have been strategically framed to create unwarranted publicity rather than to seek legitimate redress,” the spokeswoman said.

Taylor has been at FS1 since 2016 and was previously the moderator for Undisputed and cohost of The Herd before joining Speak.