Decision time has arrived for Joy Taylor and Fox Sports.
Taylor’s contract with Fox expires this summer, sources tell Front Office Sports. The network is still reeling from the salacious sex scandals and explosive lawsuits of recent months.
There are several ways this high-profile talent negotiation could play out. On one hand, FS1 could cut Taylor loose after recently splitting with executive vice president Charlie Dixon.
Dixon, the former FS1 network chief, was named as a defendant in two high-profile lawsuits by former hairstylist Noushin Faraji and reporter Julie Stewart-Binks. Fox recently confirmed that Dixon was out. Letting an on-air talent’s contract simply expire—without firing them—is a standard tactic by networks that want to get rid of somebody, while decreasing the risk of getting sued for unlawful termination.
On the other hand, Fox could sign Taylor to a contract extension, allowing her to continue leading Speak with Keyshawn Johnson and Paul Pierce, which airs weekdays at 5 p.m. ET. Taylor recently celebrated her ninth anniversary at Fox. Fox “sidelined” her for a two-week period after the scandal broke. But Taylor returned in early March and has been on-air since with no repercussions.
As a free agent, Taylor would likely have job options. She’s one of the few female talents to ascend to the male-dominated role of “opinionist,” rather than a more typical moderator role. Right or wrong, the recent scandal has helped make her something of a household name.
Taylor seems to be branding herself as a lifestyle personality who will blend in topics outside sports in her content. She recently resumed her YouTube show/podcast, Two Personal, which was launched alongside Taylor Rooks. Rooks is no longer involved. During a new episode with Dr. Cheyenne Bryant, Taylor discussed sex drives, dating, relationships, and trauma. She also discussed dating and relationships in a recent conversation with Paul Pierce and Azar Farideh.
There are also some sports media observers who feel Taylor has been getting a raw deal from the tabloid-like coverage of the Fox scandals in recent months.
Dave Portnoy of Barstool Sports publicly questioned why Taylor was even named in Faraji’s suit. If she and FS1 colleague Emmanuel Acho were in a consensual relationship, as her suit alleges, that’s their business, wrote Portnoy on X/Twitter. “I honestly don’t even know why Joy Taylor is in the lawsuit? Cause she was mean to her hairdresser yet simultaneously spilled her guts to her? Makes ZERO sense,” added Portnoy.
NFL Network’s Jane Slater also publicly defended Taylor. “Joy is seriously one of the hardest-working girls I know. A true friend to girls. So kind every time I was there doing a show. Not an ounce of jealousy or hate. She was cranking out content during Covid from home when others were waiting for assignments,” Slater tweeted. “It’s really annoying the way she is getting dragged without receipts and proof.”
There’s also a major difference in Faraji’s allegations against Dixon and former host Skip Bayless compared to her claims about Taylor in the 42-page suit.
Faraji accuses both Dixon and Bayless of sexually harassing her. Meanwhile, she essentially accuses Taylor of being a bad friend. Faraji [a native of Iran] claims Taylor made fun of her accent. She also alleges Taylor brusquely told her to “get over it” after Dixon allegedly grabbed her buttocks at a drunken West Hollywood party.
According to documents obtained by FOS, attorneys for Taylor, Bayless, FS1, and Fox have been in mediation to settle the lawsuits by Faraji. The network is also in settlement talks with Stewart-Binks, who accused Dixon of sexually assaulting her in a Marina del Rey hotel room in 2016.
If Taylor does leave, it would put an exclamation mark on the roller-coaster history of FS1’s former Undisputed, with Taylor, Bayless, and Shannon Sharpe. Launched in 2016 as a direct challenger to Stephen A. Smith’s First Take at ESPN, the program was positioned as FS1’s flagship show. But over the years, First Take widened the ratings gap and the supposed competition was no competition at all.
The escalating tension between Bayless and Sharpe came to a head in January 2023, when the partners nearly came to blows during an on-air shouting match. FS1 bought out Sharpe in June 2023, then tried to revamp the show with Bayless as host. But that didn’t work, either. Undisputed was canceled in August 2024. And Bayless, the network’s highest-paid talent at $8 million a year, left the network. Sharpe, meanwhile, has been accused of rape in a civil lawsuit seeking $50 million in damages.
Taylor could not be reached for this story. An FS1 spokesperson says the network does not comment on talent contracts.
