The head of Fox News Roger Ailes has reportedly been accused of sexual harassment by more than a dozen women.

The allegations began with former host on the channel Gretchen Carlson, who alleged that Ailes subjected her to "severe and persistent" sexual harassment.

She also claims that Ailes fired her in June because she rejected his sexual advances. Ailes has denied Carlson's accusations however the former host has filed a lawsuit against the CEO.

The lawsuit contains several instances of alleged sexual harassment, including comments Ailes' made about her legs, outfits and his own sexual history. Carlson said that when she tried to address Alies' "discriminatory" and "retaliatory" behaviour, he responded that a sexual relationship would have remedied the problem.

Since filing the lawsuit Carlson’s lawyer has said that more than dozen women have contacted her to describe similar instances of sexual harassment. Two of those women spoke on-the-record in an interview with New York magazine and four of them spoke under a pseudonym.

It's unclear whether any of the women will file their own lawsuit. The statute of limitations in New York, where Fox News has its headquarters, requires in most cases that victims of sexual harassment file a complaint with state officials within three years of the last incident.

Ailes’ legal representation has denied the new accusations.