Former Fox 2 news anchor Vic Faust now finds himself on the receiving end of legal action, as the woman he berated last year has filed a lawsuit against him.
Crystal N. Cooper alleges that on Sept. 13, while she co-hosted Faust’s radio show on , Faust defamed her, assaulted her and restrained her from leaving the broadcast booth.
The suit was filed Tuesday in St. Charles County Circuit Court; it asks for “in excess of $25,000†for each of three counts, as well as an unspecified amount of punitive damages.
Travis Noble, Faust’s attorney, said the lawsuit is “completely without merit.â€
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Noble said that “at no time†did Faust assault Cooper or prevent her from leaving the studio.
“It’s entirely not true,†Noble said.
In the off-air tirade, Faust launched into an extended outburst that criticized Cooper for her weight and parenting skills and repeatedly addressing her by a curse word most commonly directed at women.
Faust used profanity at least 40 times, calling Cooper “fat,†“stupid†and “nasty.†At one point, Faust said, “Your kids have a (expletive) terrible mom. I feel sorry for them.â€
At the time, Faust had been a main news anchor for more than seven years at KTVI (Channel 2). The station fired him about one week after the incident.
Faust’s off-air comments were digitally recorded and sent anonymously to the Post-Dispatch several days after the incident.
Faust later apologized for the outburst through social media; Cooper quit working at the station shortly after the incident.
In the lawsuit, Cooper accuses Faust of “false imprisonment,†in that he would not allow her to leave the studio during the verbal outburst. It further claims she was assaulted, in that Faust’s behavior made her fearful of “offensive contact†and “bodily harm.â€
The defamation allegation made by Cooper is connected to Faust’s latest endeavor, a podcast he began shortly after he was fired from KTVI.
Cooper alleges that in several of these podcasts, Faust has claimed that Cooper had orchestrated the confrontation that cost him his job. The suit says such claims have damaged Cooper’s reputation.
Specifically to that count, the suit states: “Any attempt (by Faust) to shift blame for his violent temper, his misogynistic diatribe ... is absolutely vindictive and without any justification.â€
“The only person who is responsible for any loss of employment of Victor Joseph Faust Jr. is Victor Joseph Faust Jr.,†the lawsuit states.
Thomas C. DeVoto, Cooper’s lawyer, declined to comment on pending litigation.
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