The hyper-conservative Fox News man's man is once again in the spotlight in the wake of this New York Times report showing just how much Fox has been spending to settle lawsuits against the guy over allegations of sexual harassment from five women who say he made unwanted advances on them or in some way conducted himself inappropriately.
How much has the ultra-right news and commentary juggernaut spent to protect their freckled golden boy, you say?
About $13 million.
In other words, more money than you'll ever make in a year multiplied by about a hundred.
In the wake of the report, advertisers like Mercedes and Hyundai have pulled their advertising from his show to demonstrate that they're on the side of humans, male and female, who respect one another and don't reduce one another to a series of body parts.
Even though he denies the claims (which we suppose is better than blaming the alleged victims because of what they were wearing), many are calling for O'Reilly's ousting.
Among them is the women's advocacy group UltraViolet.
“Fox News needs to fire Bill O’Reilly immediately," UltraViolet cofounder Shaunna Thomas said in a written statement disseminated to the press. "The lack of accountability here is outrageous. The fact that Fox News would spend millions defending and settling allegations of sexual harassment and abuse against Bill O’Reilly to avoid holding him accountable for his crimes proves that Fox News executives are more concerned with protecting their public image, and that of their male anchors, than creating an environment that is safe for all its employees."
Thomas called for an independent investigation into the network, which she said allows "systemic sexual abuse," given the allegations that have come out about O'Reilly as well as former Fox president Roger Ailes over the years, namely last summer. That was when then-Fox News personalities Gretchen Carlson and Andrea Tantaros went public with their allegations of sexual harassment against Ailes and O'Reilly, respectively.
Last year, UltraViolet took to social media to draw attention to the issue with an image macro pairing O'Reilly's image with the caption "Have You been Sexually Harassed By Bill O'Reilly?" that "targeted" female Fox News employees.
Of course, in the wake of the most recent controversy flare-up, President Trump, also a total creeper no matter how you try to slice it, chimed in to defend O'Reilly, saying "I don't think Bill did anything wrong."
It is unclear whether he meant that he doesn't believe the allegations or that he doesn't think offering women career advancement in exchange for sexual favors is wrong. We're guessing the latter. Bigly. Even if it was perhaps subconscious. Because, well…
This article appears in Mar 30 – Apr 6, 2017.