A friend of the son of former Fox News host Eric Bolling is questioning reports that he endured ’emotional torture’ over the sexual harassment claims against his father before he was found dead.
Eric Chase Bolling, 19, was found dead on Friday night in his bed. The working theory is that he died after an overdose despite no drug paraphernalia found around him, according to TMZ.
Reports have alleged that the University of Colorado Boulder student was ‘destroyed’ after his father parted ways with the cable giant amid claims he sent unsolicited photos of male genitalia to colleagues.
But one college friend told the Daily Camera that she’d be surprised if Eric Chase took his own life as that was not the kind of person he was.
A friend of the son of fomer Fox News host Eric Bolling (pictured together) is questioning reports that he endured ’emotional torture’ over the sexual harassment claims against his father before he was found dead
The friend, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that Eric Chase, 19, was not ashamed that his father worked for Fox News and that he was ‘proud’ of Bolling Sr
The friend, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the college student was not ashamed that his father worked for Fox News.
‘He would always talk about his dad being on Fox News,’ she said.
‘It’s not like I really cared, since I just wanted to be his friend. But he talked about it, and he was proud of his dad. He said he had the life that he had due to his father.’
Fox News announced Friday that it had parted ways with Eric Bolling, who hosted the show ‘The Specialists’. Bolling had been suspended since last month over allegations he sent lewd photos to female coworkers.
But Eric Chase Bolling’s friend said she doesn’t believe that the gossip surrounding his father’s job situation caused him the ’emotional torture’ some news outlets reported.
‘That’s not the Eric we know,’ she said. ‘Yes, he cared about his dad, but he was a strong man. He’d faced adversity before and he always came back stronger than ever before.’
Eric Chase Bolling (seen right with his father a November 2016 photograph) was reportedly ‘destroyed’ after his father parted ways with the cable giant amid claims he sent unsolicited photos of male genitala to colleagues
The University of Colorado Boulder student was found dead in his bed on Friday afternoon, with the covers over him in a normal position. The working theory is that he died from an overdose, but there was no suicide note found at the scene
Sources close to Bolling Sr said that the Fox News host parted ways with the cable giant partly because his son was having a hard time handling the sexual harassment allegations against his father.
Bolling Sr found out about his son’s death just two hours after confirming his exit deal with Fox.
He said the cause of death is under investigation but that authorities told him there was ‘no sign of self harm at this point’.
While an autopsy was performed Monday, toxicology tests could take up to four weeks to return results.
Eric Chase was the only child of Bolling, 54, and his wife, Adrienne.
Bolling Sr confirmed the tragic passing on Saturday afternoon in a tweet. He wrote that he and his wife were distraught.
‘Adrienne and I are devastated by the loss of our beloved son Eric Chase last night. Details still unclear. Thoughts, prayers appreciated’ wrote Bolling Sr.
The shocking news was first reported in a tweet by journalist Yashar Ali, who also broke the story last month about alleged lewd texts sent by Bolling Sr to female staff members at Fox News.
Bolling Sr confirmed the tragic passing of the University of Colorado Boulder student on Saturday afternoon. In a tweet, he wrote that he and his wife were distraught
Bolling Sr later tweeted that his son’s death did not appear to have been from self-harm. While an autopsy was performed Monday, toxicology tests could take up to four weeks to return results
Bolling Sr insists the allegations are false and has filed a $50million lawsuit against Ali.
‘Very sad news, Eric Bolling’s son, who was only 19, died last night,’ wrote Ali earlier on Saturday afternon. ‘By all accounts, Eric was incredibly devoted to his son. Heartbreaking.’
Fox News released a statement on Saturday, saying: ‘We are very saddened to hear of the passing of Eric Bolling’s son.
‘Eric Chase was a wonderful young man and our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Bolling family.’
President Donald Trump retweeted condolences from Kellyanne Conway and Sean Hannity that lamented the teen’s death.
Conway wrote on Saturday: ‘Love and prayers for friends Adrienne & Eric Bolling. May Eric Chase know eternal peace.’
Hannity tweeted: ‘@ericbolling To my dear friend, please know we all love you, will be here for you and your family.’
The tragic death took place one day after it came to light that Bolling Sr agreed to leave the network following an investigation into claims of sexual harassment.
Three of his colleagues claimed that he sent them unsolicited photos of male genitalia via text message.
Eric Bolling’s son Eric Chase is pictured here in 2015 before his prom. The caption from his father on the snap read ‘My guy is growing up’
After the allegations emerged back in August, Bolling Sr had maintained his innocence and tweeted: ‘I will continue to fight against these false smear attacks! THANK YOU FOR CONTINUED SUPPORT’.
The network began investigating after two of the women who claimed to have received the photo worked with Bolling Sr at Fox Business Network, while a third woman works at Fox News, Huffington Post reported.
The women all claim they did not solicit the messages and that they knew the message was from Bolling Sr, who has been married to his wife since 1997, because they recognized the phone number from previous informal and work-related interactions.
The Huffington Post reported that the messages were sent several years ago on separate occasions.
Eric Chase Bolling’s friend said she doesn’t believe that the gossip surrounding his father’s job situation caused him the ’emotional torture’ some news outlets reported. She said: ‘That’s not the Eric we know. Yes, he cared about his dad, but he was a strong man. He’d faced adversity before and he always came back stronger than ever before’
After receiving the messages reportedly from Bolling Sr, the women told their colleagues that they were deeply offended and upset.
One of the women replied to the anchor instructing him to never send her photos of male genitalia ever again; he reportedly did not respond.
The identities of the women have not been released to the public. Bolling Sr had previously denied all allegations against him.
It was announced last month that Bolling Sr is reportedly suing the Huffington Post reporter who broke the story, claiming that he had sent several female co-workers lewd photos.
Ali tweeted last month that he is being personally sued by Bolling Sr for $50million in damages for the story which led to the Fox reporter’s suspension on Saturday.
‘It’s important to note that Bolling’s summons does not include HuffPost – he is coming after me personally. I’m a big boy…but very telling,’ Ali tweeted on Wednesday.
Yashar Ali, a contributor to New York magazine and the Huffington Post, broke the news on Saturday that the 19-year-old son of former Fox News host Eric Bolling had died
Ali was the reporter who initially broke the story in Huffington Post last month about the alleged lewd texts sent by Bolling to colleagues at Fox News, resulting in an internal investigation
‘Not going to stop reporting on Eric Bolling or anyone else. I’ve had family members killed/jailed in Iran, a lawsuit isn’t going to scare me,’ he added, writing that he ‘stand(s) by my reporting + will protect my sources.’
Bolling is represented by Michael Bowe – a lawyer from the same firm as Marc Kasowitz, President Trump’s personal attorney until July.
The defamation lawsuit seeks $50 million in damages for ‘the defendant’s efforts to injure the plaintiff’s reputation through the intentional and/or highly reckless publication of actionable false and misleading statements about the plaintiff’s conduct and character.
‘As a result of the defendant’s actions, the plaintiff has been substantially harmed,’ the summons sent to Ali stated.
Since the allegations emerged against Bolling, a Fox News guest, who claimed in the past she was sexually harassed by Bill O’Reilly, came forward to claim she was also on the receiving end of unwanted advances by Bolling.
Caroline Heldman, a 44-year-old Associate Professor of Politics at Occidental College in Los Angeles, made ‘hundreds’ of appearances on Fox between 2008 and 2011, many of which were on Bolling’s show Bulls & Bears.
Bolling and his wife, Adrienne (above together), have been married since 1997. They have one son together, Chase
The rising Fox News host was suspended during the investigation and will now leave the network where he has anchored several different shows for the past 10 years
Between appearances, she claimed Bolling called and texted her to invite her to New York to ‘have fun’. On one occasion when she was in town, he took her into his office and told her it was his favorite place to have sex, she said.
He called her ‘Dr. McHottie’ on air and, she said, would sometimes call her afterwards to apologize ‘and then do it again’.
Heldman made her accusations in a lengthy Facebook post on Saturday in which she also claimed that ‘several other women’ received similar treatment from him.
‘My only surprise is that it took this long for people to come forward about Bolling’s behavior, which has been wildly inappropriate for years,’ she wrote.
Bolling denies ever making inappropriate and unsolicited contact with her.
His attorney Michael Bowe told DailyMail.com: ‘Mr. Bolling never had any interactions with Ms. Heldman of a sexual nature, and any such accusation would be false and defamatory.’
Since the allegations emerged, Caroline Heldman (above), a Fox News guest, who says she was sexually harassed by Bill O’Reilly, came forward to claim she was also on the receiving end of unwanted advances by Bolling
Heldman claims she was the victim of unsolicited sexual advances from Bolling between 2008 and 2011 when she would regularly appear on the network. During a 2011 appearance on Bolling’s show Bulls & Bears, he referred to her as ‘the great Dr. McHottie’ (above)
Heldman made the accusations in a lengthy Facebook post after Bolling was suspended