Tomi Lahren files lawsuit against Glenn Beck and TheBlaze, alleging wrongful termination for expressing pro-choice views

Screenshot via Facebook

Conservative firebrand Tomi Lahren filed a lawsuit against Glenn Beck and TheBlaze on Friday, alleging she was wrongfully terminated for recently expressing a pro-choice opinion.

The news she was fired, which TheBlaze disputed, was first reported by the Dallas Morning News.

During a March 17 appearance on "The View," Lahren said she could not "sit here and be a hypocrite and say I’m for limited government but I think the government should decide what women do with their bodies.”

The comment ignited controversy, with anti-abortion activists in conservative media outraged Lahren had suggested they were hypocrites.

As a result of the comment, the lawsuit said, Lahren was contacted by TheBlaze's human resources director a few days later and suspended indefinitely "all because of her pro-choice opinions expressed on The View."

Several days after being suspended, Lahren was reached again by human resources and told her "services were no longer needed" and that her employment was terminated, the lawsuit said. Nevertheless, the company continued to pay her, the lawsuit said, with hopes it "could find an exit strategy to sanitize" its "unlawful conduct."

"Plaintiff’s unilateral suspension and termination by [TheBlaze] underscores the point that Beck and [TheBlaze] have a political-opinion litmus test, which cannot be reconciled with the Employment Contract that specifically authorizes Plaintiff to express her own views without the threat of retaliation," the lawsuit said.

Lahren said in the lawsuit that TheBlaze added "insult to injury" by placing yellow caution tape over her office and terminating her email account. She also said in the lawsuit that TheBlaze had blocked access to her Facebook page and contended it was not the company's "intellectual property."

Lahren, whose footprint on the internet has grown immensely with President Donald Trump's rise to power, also jabbed Beck's public stature, claiming TheBlaze's actions were motivated by "specific intent to inflate" his profile "from what has become a mediocre following." Beck alienated many of his supporters during the 2016 presidential election by taking a strong anti-Trump stance.

The lawsuit concluded by asking for a temporary restraining order. It also asked the court to enter a permanent injunctive relief order to prevent the destruction of evidence, and for Beck and TheBlaze to cover her legal fees "as well as other relief" that "she may show herself justly entitled."

In a statement provided to Business Insider, TheBlaze disputed Lahren's claim she was fired.

"It is puzzling that an employee who remains under contract (and is still being paid) has sued us for being fired, especially when we continue to comply fully with the terms of our agreement with her," the company said.

Beck declined to comment. 

This story has been updated with comment from TheBlaze.

Disclosure: The author of this story previously was employed at TheBlaze.

NOW WATCH: People on Twitter are turning Paul Ryan’s healthcare presentation into hilarious memes