Bill O’Reilly sexual harassment scandal, explained
By Lauren Cook lauren.cook@amny.com April 7, 2017
Major companies pulled advertising from “The O’Reilly Factor” this week following revelations that Fox News and host Bill O’Reilly paid five women to settle sexual harassment claims.
Although O’Reilly, 67, insists the allegations are baseless and that he was targeted because of his fame, many have called for Fox to fire him. The National Organization for Women on Tuesday called for an independent investigation into the "culture of sexual harassment" at Fox News.
"The O’Reilly Factor" is Fox News’ most watched program and is coming off the highest-rated first quarter in its history, averaging 4 million viewers per episode, according to Nielsen.
The scandal appears to have only bolstered the show's viewership. More than 3.76 million people tuned in to "The O'Reilly Factor" on Tuesday, April 4 – up 20 percent from the same day the week before – and the show was the most-watched cable news program among total viewers and the 25-54 demographic, per Nielsen.
The scandal has garnered so much attention that even President Donald Trump – known for watching Fox News programming – has weighed in on what O’Reilly did or didn’t do.
Below, a breakdown of the sexual harassment allegations and what they mean for O’Reilly, Fox News and advertisers.
It may have been April Fools’ Day, but The New York Times article published on Saturday was no joke. An investigation by the newspaper revealed that five women had been given sums of money totaling $13 million by either Fox News or O’Reilly in exchange for not pursuing litigation over allegations including sexual harassment as well as being silent on the matter.
The accusers were all women who either worked directly for O’Reilly or who appeared on “The O’Reilly Factor,” according to the Times. Complaints included verbal abuse, unwanted advances and lewd comments, the paper said, citing documents and interviews.
Of the five settlements, four were over alleged sexual harassment and the fifth was a producer who claimed O’Reilly verbally abused her in front of newsroom staff, according to The Times.
The largest settlement was a payout of $9 million in a sexual harassment lawsuit former Fox News producer Andrea Mackris brought against O’Reilly in 2004.
Two of the settlements were previously known before the Times’ report, but three others were unearthed by the paper.
O’Reilly has been dogged by claims of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior for years, yet he maintains his innocence, even after the most recent revelations of the settlements.
"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," O’Reilly said in a statement. “I have put to rest any controversies to spare my children."
Representatives for 21st Century Fox, Fox News’ parent company, released a statement saying it had addressed the issue with the network’s star.
“While he denies the merits of these claims, Mr. O’Reilly has resolved those he regarded as his personal responsibility," the company said, in part. “Mr. O’Reilly is fully committed to supporting our efforts to improve the environment for all our employees at Fox News."
Companies pulling advertising
Despite efforts to tamp down the smoldering scandal, some companies have removed advertising from “The O’Reilly Factor” out of concern about a possible backlash for supporting the show and its host.
By Wednesday, companies including Mercedes-Benz, BMW of North America, Allstate Corp., French pharmaceuticals maker Sanofi SA, direct marketer Constant Contact, men's clothing company Untuckit and mutual fund operator T. Rowe Price had said they were no longer advertising on the show.
British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline PLC said it would temporarily suspend its advertising. Ainsworth Pet Nutrition also reportedly suspended its advertising and Hyundai Motor Corp. told The New York Times it was reallocating future advertising on the program.
Untuckit is one of the show’s top advertisers, spending $365,556 over the past 30 days and a total of $1.36 million in 2016, per the ad-tracking firm iSpot.tv.
"In light of the disturbing allegations, we instructed our media buyer this morning to reallocate our ad dollars to other shows, effective immediately," Untuckit chief executive Aaron Sanandres said.
Paul Rittenberg, Fox News’ executive vice president of advertising sales, said the ads that were pulled from “The O’Reilly Factor” were transferred to other programs on the network, adding that the company was working with advertisers “to address their current concerns about 'The O’Reilly Factor.'”
No stranger to claims of sexual harassment himself, Trump weighed in on the controversy Wednesday, saying O’Reilly is “a good person.”
"I think he’s a person I know well — he is a good person,” the president said during an interview with The New York Times.
Trump went as far as to say he believes O’Reilly shouldn’t have gone along with the settlements.
"I think he shouldn’t have settled; personally, I think he shouldn’t have settled,” he told The Times. “Because you should have taken it all the way. I don’t think Bill did anything wrong.”
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