Alexis Bloom: Filmmaker of 'Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes'

Alexis Bloom made a documentary about former Fox New CEO Roger Ailes.

“Roger was one of the first people deposed in the #MeToo movement. You know, he had an allegation of sexual harassment leveled against him and it ended up costing him his job,” she said. “He is defined by what he did to women and by what they did, in turn, to him.”

In July 2016, former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson filed a lawsuit accusing Ailes of “pervasive sexual harassment.” Two weeks later, he resigned.

“When Gretchen Carlson filed her suit and when, in fact, he ended up resigning or being fired, depending on which way you look at it, we know that there was a chink in the armor and that this was a good time to make a film about him,” Bloom said.

The producer and director said she initially set out to tell Ailes’ story to discover how America has become so politically divided. The film, called “Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes,” also ended up exposing additional harassment at Fox.

“I mean, it’s extraordinary. I didn’t know this going into the film,” she said. “I do think there’s a value in women telling women’s stories. Women need to tell women’s stories.”