In response to recent sexual harassment allegations and the loss of more than 50 major advertisers, Fox News announced Wednesday that Bill O’Reilly’s show has been canceled and he no longer works for the corporation. Although Fox News and its parent company, 21st Century Fox, have defended O’Reilly for years while paying millions in settlements, O’Reilly only lost his job after numerous advertisers decided to abandon his show.
“After a thorough and careful review of the allegations, the company and Bill O’Reilly have agreed that Bill O’Reilly will not be returning to the Fox News Channel,” 21st Century Fox wrote in a recent statement.
Last month, O’Reilly signed a three-year multimillion dollar contract with Fox despite the fact that both O’Reilly and the corporation had previously reached settlements with at least five women accusing the Fox News host of sexual harassment and misconduct. In total, the women ended up receiving approximately $13 million in exchange for their silence.
Earlier this month, former “O’Reilly Factor” guest Wendy Walsh openly came forward accusing O’Reilly of sexual harassment without filing a lawsuit or remaining silent. On Tuesday, a seventh woman filed a complaint against the company accusing O’Reilly of incessantly making inappropriate racial and sexual comments while harassing her at the workplace.
After reaching a $20 million settlement with Gretchen Carlson and releasing Greta Van Susteren from her contract last year, 21st Century Fox forced former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes to resign as several female Fox employees came forward with sexual harassment claims against their boss. In recent years, several prominent female Fox News employees, including Megyn Kelly, Andrea Tantaros, and others, have left the company while describing their experiences of sexual harassment at Fox.
Besides President Donald Trump, 21st Century Fox owner Rupert Murdoch was reportedly the only other person willing to defend O’Reilly. Trump has also been accused of sexually assaulting multiple women, while Murdoch was caught using his employees to hack the phones of a murdered schoolgirl, the families of deceased British soldiers, and victims of the 2005 London bombings.
Due to recent allegations against O’Reilly, at least 60 advertisers demanded their commercials be removed from “The O’Reilly Factor” amid public outcry. After defending O’Reilly for years, Murdoch’s sons finally decided to oust the problematic host in an attempt to reclaim their advertisers while shying away from the company’s current stigma of rampant sexual misconduct.
O’Reilly continues to deny the allegations against him. As a living testament to hypocrisy, O’Reilly has built a career promoting family values, while his own daughter admitted to witnessing him physically abuse her mother by tightly gripping her throat and dragging her down the stairs by her neck.
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