$13 million paid to settle O’Reilly harassment cases
For nearly two decades, Bill O’Reilly has been Fox News’ top asset, building the No. 1 program in cable news for a network that has pulled in billions of dollars in revenues for its parent company, 21st Century Fox.
Behind the scenes, the company has repeatedly stood by O’Reilly as he faced a series of allegations of sexual harassment or other inappropriate behavior.
An investigation by the New York Times has found five women who have received payouts from either O’Reilly or the company in exchange for agreeing to not pursue litigation or speak about their accusations against him. The agreements totaled about $13 million.
Two settlements came after the network’s former chairman, Roger Ailes, was dismissed last summer in the wake of his own sexual harassment scandal, when the company said it did not tolerate behavior that “disrespects women or contributes to an uncomfortable work environment.”
The women who made allegations against O’Reilly either worked for him or appeared on his show. They have complained about a wide range of behavior, including verbal abuse, lewd comments, unwanted advances and phone calls in which it sounded as if O’Reilly was masturbating, according to documents and interviews.
The reporting suggests a pattern: As an influential figure in the newsroom, O’Reilly would create a bond with some women by offering advice and promising to help them professionally. He then would pursue sexual relationships with them, causing some to fear that if they rebuffed him, their careers would stall.
Of the five settlements, two were previously known — one for about $9 million in 2004 with a producer, and another struck last year with a former on-air personality, which the Times reported on in January.
The three other settlements were uncovered by the Times. Two involved sexual harassment claims against O’Reilly, and the other was for verbal abuse related to an episode in which he berated a young producer in front of newsroom colleagues.
Besides the women who reached settlements, two other women have spoken of inappropriate behavior by the host. A former regular guest on his show, Wendy Walsh, told the Times that after she rebuffed an advance from him, he didn’t follow through on a verbal offer to secure her a lucrative position at the network. And former Fox News host Andrea Tantaros said O’Reilly sexually harassed her in a lawsuit she filed last summer against the network and Ailes.
In a statement, O’Reilly suggested that his prominence had made him a target.
“Just like other prominent and controversial people,” the statement read, “I’m vulnerable to lawsuits from individuals who want me to pay them to avoid negative publicity. In my more than 20 years at Fox News Channel, no one has ever filed a complaint about me with the Human Resources Department, even on the anonymous hotline.
Fredric Newman, a lawyer for O’Reilly, said in a statement Friday evening, “We are now seriously considering legal action to defend Mr. O’Reilly’s reputation.”