Woman who settled in harassment case sues O’Reilly, Fox News

A woman who reached a settlement with Bill O’Reilly over harassment allegations sued O’Reilly and Fox News on Monday, alleging defamation and breach of contract, saying that public statements he and the network made violated the settlement and portrayed her as a liar and politically motivated extortionist.

The woman, Rachel Witlieb Bernstein, is one of six known to have reached settlements after making accusations against O’Reilly. (Her allegations did not include sexual harassment.)

None of the others have said anything publicly about their claims, which involved sexual harassment.

O’Reilly has repeatedly said that the harassment allegations that led to his ouster from Fox News in April have no merit, that he never mistreated anyone and that he resolved the matters privately to protect his children.

“In fact, Mr. O’Reilly is the liar,” states the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

“He mistreated Ms. Bernstein. She was forced out of her job at Fox News and paid a settlement because of his mistreatment,” the lawsuit says.

Settlements involving harassment allegations often contain strict confidentiality and nondisparagement clauses, which some employment lawyers have said build a culture of silence around these issues and allow misconduct to continue.

Fredric Newman, a lawyer for O’Reilly, said in a statement that O’Reilly had never mentioned Bernstein’s name publicly in any context.

“As the original New York Times story makes clear, this was absolutely not a case of sexual harassment,” Newman said. “So today’s lawsuit has absolutely no merit, and Mr. O’Reilly will respond aggressively in court.”

Representatives for Fox News did not respond to requests for comment.