Former Fox co-host Andrea Tantaros claims ex-Sen. Scott Brown groped her in cafeteria

Andrea Tantaros accused former senator Scott Brown of sexually harassing her while she worked at Fox News.

The 37-year-old Tantaros filed a harassment lawsuit against the conservative network and its former chief, Roger Ailes, who she accused of retaliation when she refused his sexual advances.

The lawsuit, which was obtained by Think Progress, claims Brown, a former Republican senator from Massachusetts, appeared Aug. 18, 2015, on the Fox News program "Outnumbered," which Tantaros co-hosted.

"Brown made a number of sexually inappropriate comments to Tantaros on set, including, and in a suggestive manner, that Tantaros 'would be fun to go to a nightclub with,'” the lawsuit alleged. "After the show was over, Brown snuck up behind Tantaros while she was purchasing lunch and put his hands on her lower waist. She immediately pulled back, telling Brown to 'stop.'"

Tantaros reported Brown, a Fox News contributor, to network executive Bill Shine, who was tapped as one of two replacements for Ailes -- who resigned under pressure after former anchor Gretchen Carlson filed her own bombshell harassment suit.

The lawsuit claims Tantaros asked Shine to assure her that Brown would never be booked on the program again, and the executive promised he would speak with the former U.S. senator.

However, Shine ignored Tantaros' request and continued to book Brown on the program.

Updated: Scott Brown denied Tantaros' claims about him, saying all of his interactions with her were "professional and cordial" in the studio or in chance encounters in public, adding that he welcomed an opportunity to make "witness statement."

Tantaros was removed from "Outnumbered" in April after Fox News claimed she had breached her contract.

Her lawsuit also claims Tantaros had been previously demoted to that lower-rated program from "The Five" after she rejected Ailes' advances.

Tantaros also complained in her lawsuit, which seeks at least $49 million in damages, that actor Dean Cain had also touched her inappropriately during a Jan. 14, 2016, appearance on "Outnumbered."

The suit claims Fox News media relations director Irena Briganti arranged for Tantaros to pose for a photo with Cain, which was then shared on social media with the caption: "Things Heating Up Between Andrea Tantaros and Dean Cain."

"This was plainly designed to further sexualize Tantaros’s image," the suit complains.

Watch Tantaros talk on the Aug. 18, 2015, episode of "Outnumbered" about the importance of wives making sandwiches for their husbands: