Jennifer Eckhart alleged in a 2020 lawsuit that former Fox News anchor Ed Henry raped her, and a settlement was reached in 2025.
Credit: jennifereckhart/Instagram
NEED TO KNOW
- Jennifer Eckhart, who previously worked at Fox News for seven years, has died
- Her death at age 36 was ruled a suicide, according to local authorities
- Eckhart had begun a nonprofit and a podcast after alleging in a 2020 lawsuit that anchor Ed Henry raped her (a settlement was reached in 2025)
Former Fox News staffer Jennifer Eckhart has died at age 36.
Eckhart was found dead inside her Florida home on Saturday morning, Sept. 19, according to a Martin County Sheriff’s Office incident report obtained by PEOPLE.
Christine Christofek, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, added in a statement, “This death has been ruled a suicide.” TMZ was first to report.
Eckhart worked as an associate producer on Fox Business and worked at the network for seven years. In 2020, she accused the network’s then-anchor Ed Henry of rape, which he denied.
Henry was fired by the network over sexual misconduct claims, which, three weeks later, were revealed to be related to Eckhart when she filed her lawsuit and claimed she was “violently raped” and left “injured, bruised and battered with bloody wrists” by him.
Credit: jennifereckhart/Instagram
She also alleged that Henry asked her to be his “sex slave,” “threatened punishment and retaliation if [Eckhart] didn’t comply with his sexual demands,” and “took photos” of her “for purposes of blackmail that could destroy her career.”
Fox News said in a statement to PEOPLE at the time that it “took swift action as soon as it learned of Ms. Eckhart’s claims on June 25 and Mr. Henry is no longer employed by the network.” The network also stated that there were no “sexual harassment claims against Ed Henry at Fox News prior to Jennifer Eckhart’s claim.”
Fox News was dismissed as a defendant from the lawsuit. Eckhart settled her lawsuit against Henry in 2025. “This has been an exhaustive, re-traumatizing, five-year legal battle with incredible challenges that at times I almost felt was unable to bear,” she said in a statement at the time. “With this settlement in place, a weight has now been lifted from my shoulders and my passion to support fellow trauma survivors has been renewed.”
She began a nonprofit, The Reinvented Project, which helps trauma survivors through animal-assisted therapy, and she started a podcast, REINVENTED with Jen Eckhart, to “give a voice to the voiceless.” The podcast previously featured interviews with guests like Billy Corgan, who spoke about “generational trauma.”
“I turned pain into purpose,” Eckhart said. “I think the overarching theme, as far as this case not going to trial, is that survivors do not require validation from a courtroom to emerge stronger than what tries to break them.”
Credit: jennifereckhart/Instagram
Her final Instagram post was shared on June 1. “Haven’t posted since the last time gas was under $4. What a time to be alive,” she wrote under a photo of herself in Florida. “Glad to be sharing this weird little corner of the Internet again. Working on some exciting stuff that I can’t wait to share with you all!”
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org 24/7.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
Julia Moore, Danielle Bacher