Outside of the ongoing drama surrounding Donald Trump and his administration, no story has dominated the headlines like the sexual harassment scandal involving Bill O'Reilly. Less than a week after he was fired by Fox News, O'Reilly decided to speak out.
O'Reilly speaks
For the better part of the last two decades, Bill O'Reilly has been the most recognizable face on Fox News, helping lead the cable news network to record high ratings. Though Democratic administrations like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, to Republicans like George W. Bush and the start of the Donald Trump era, O'Reilly has been a mainstay that has anchored the primetime line-up.
However, earlier this month all of that success came crashing down after the New York Times revealed that O'Reilly had been hiding the fact that he was accused of sexual harassment by at least five former Fox News employees, reaching a $13 settlement with the women in the process. In the weeks since the story broke, over 50 sponsors pulled their ads from "The O'Reilly Factor" program, which caused speculation that the network would pull the plug on their long time star. After Fox News decided to do just that, O'Reilly was out of a job, which led to him opening up on April 24 during his podcast.
Bill O’Reilly Resurfaces in New Podcast: ‘Very Confident the Truth Will Come Out’ https://t.co/o3KK97Ddc5 pic.twitter.com/FFIIgKShGi
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) April 24, 2017
During his Monday podcast, Bill O'Reilly gave his first public comments about the sexual harassment scandal, settlement and the fallout.
"I am sad that I’m not on television anymore," O'Reilly said, explaining that he can't go into too much detail due to the legal circumstances surrounding the issue at hand. "I’m very confident the truth will come out," he continued, noting "I think you’re going to be shaken, as I am. There’s a lot of stuff involved here."
O'Reilly's back! Check out Bill's first No Spin News since leaving FNC - https://t.co/hiv184nXgU
— Bill O'Reilly (@billoreilly) April 24, 2017
Bill O'Reilly explained that he didn't want to elaborate further and "influence the flow of the information," while predicting that the media would only twist his words and "misconstrue" his remarks.
The former Fox News host continued with his podcast, speaking about his plans for the future which involve expanding his online presence since his days at the network are officially over.
Moving forward
With Bill O'Reilly now out at Fox News, the latest story to hit the network are allegations that were made by former network contributor Debbie Schlussel who accused Sean Hannity of similar sexual harassment claims. Hannity has since pushed back, and could take legal action over the allegations.
