| “ | I have been a gentleman. I have been patient. No dancing away tonight. Tonight, if you want to keep that job, it's time to show me how much. Take off your clothes. Get on your knees. | „ |
| ~ Coyle trying to rape Margery Evans |
Harold Coyle is the main antagonist of the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "The Newsroom". He is a TV news executive who sexually harasses and assaults his female employees.
He was portrayed by Christopher McDonald, who also portrayed Shooter McGavin in Happy Gilmore, Wilson Croft in Flubber, Travis Cole in Dirty Work, Hourglass in Superhero Movie, Kerr in Terminal Velocity, and Kent Mansley in The Iron Giant.
Overview[]
Coyle is the Chief Executive of HNT, a major news network with a hard-right political bias. He uses his power and influence to sexually harass and assault his female employees, threatening to destroy their careers if they tell anyone. He records the assaults to use as leverage against his victims, threatening to release them unless they keep quiet. He is also extremely paranoid, frequently spying on male and female employees alike and claiming that any criticism of him is part of a plot by "liberal elites" to destroy him.
One of his victims, Amy James, committed suicide after he assaulted and blackmailed her.
"The Newsroom"[]
Lieutenant Olivia Benson of the NYPD's Special Victims Unit appears on one of HNT's talk shows, HNT Morning Live, to talk about sexual assault in the workplace, alongside actress Davina DeLuci, who shares an account of being raped by a costar. DeLuci's story unnerves news anchor Heidi Sorenson, who tells Benson, on the air, that Coyle had raped her six months earlier. Coyle punishes her by putting her on indefinite leave and replacing her with Margery Evans, his newest "protégé". When Sorensen tries to get her job back, Coyle forces her to perform oral sex on him to prove that she is "serious" about her loyalty to him; he then fires her anyway.
Sorensen tells Benson and Detective Amanda Rollins that Coyle had sexually harassed her for years before finally raping her after she asked for a promotion. She also says that she told Evans about the rape, but Evans denies it. Detectives Fin Tutuola and Dominick Carisi Jr. investigate further and learn that Coyle's harassment of female employees is an open secret at HNT, with no one willing to testify in court for fear of Coyle blacklisting them.
When Benson and Deputy Chief William Dodds question Coyle about Sorensen's accusations, he denies them and threatens to sue the NYPD if they make the investigation public. He also threatens to run a story blaming Benson for the recent death of her sergeant, and Dodd's son, Mike Dodds, at the hands of corrupt corrections officer Gary Munson during a domestic violence arrest gone wrong.
After several female former HNT employees accuse Coyle of harassing and assaulting them, Coyle is arrested and charged with first-degree rape. Assistant District Attorney Rafael Barba goes to trial armed with testimonials from Sorensen and her co-anchor George Thanos, who witnessed the abuse. Thanos backs out of testifying at the last minute, however, after Coyle threatens to publish his daughter's juvenile arrest records. He also gets Evans to testify in his defense, denying that Sorensen told her about the rape. Sorensen confronts her outside the courtroom, warning her about the price of staying on Coyle's good side.
That night, Evans shows up at Coyle's house, claiming that she wants to make sure he is all right. Coyle invites her in and offers her a drink, all while bragging that the jury will acquit him. She plays along when he tries to seduce her, but then asks for her own tape back in return for lying for him in court, revealing that he had raped her, as well. Coyle refuses and tries to rape her - unaware that she is recording him with a body camera. She fights him off and brings the recording to SVU. Barba confronts Coyle with the recording and threatens to put him in prison for rape unless he pleads to misdemeanor sexual assault. Coyle reluctantly agrees and is sentenced to 18 months in prison. HNT fires him and settles with Sorensen for several million dollars.
Trivia[]
- He is loosely based upon the late Roger Ailes, the former CEO of Fox News who was fired in 2015 for sexually harassing several female employees.
External links[]
- Harold Coyle at the Law & Order Wiki
