Former Fox News star Bill O’Reilly reportedly paid $32 million last January to settle a sexual harassment suit with one of his frequent guests, according to the New York Times. Although Fox knew about the payout, the channel then gave O’Reilly a four-year contract extension worth $25 million a year.
O’Reilly was fired in April after it was revealed he had paid out $13 million to five women to settle other sexual harassment allegations. He later said he had been a good mentor to women while at Fox.
The latest woman to accuse O’Reilly is Lis Wiehl, who had been a legal analyst for the network for 15 years. According to the Times, O’Reilly is accused of repeated harassment, a nonconsensual sexual relationship, and the transmission of sexually explicit material, including gay porn, to Wiehl.
During an interview with the Times on Wednesday, O’Reilly said, “I never mistreated anyone … [The allegations are] politically and financially motivated, and we can prove it with shocking information, but I’m not going to sit here in a courtroom for a year and a half and let my kids get beaten up every single day of their lives by a tabloid press that would sit there, and you know it.”
Here’s 21st Century Fox’s statement:
Here is 21st Century Fox’s statement about today’s revelation about Bill O’Reilly’s $32 million settlement: pic.twitter.com/Tf5VG5DfH7
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) October 21, 2017
