Posted on 10/21/2017 10:34:37 PM PDT by Zakeet
Former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly secretly settled a sexual harassment allegation with a network contributor for $32 million - the largest, by far, of six such agreements that eventually toppled the outspoken commentator, according to a new report.
The New York Times said Bill O'Reilly agreed to the settlement in January with Lis Wiehl, a longtime legal analyst at Fox who had worked with O’Reilly and had once offered him legal advice.
Despite knowledge of a settlement with Wiehl, Fox renewed its contract with O'Reilly in February, paying him $25 million per year over four years, the paper said.
In a brief interview on Saturday following publication of the Times story, O'Reilly declined to discuss details of the settlement with Wiehl, citing a confidentiality agreement. But he said he agreed to settle "to protect my children from the horror" of continuing adverse publicity had Wiehl's allegations been litigated in court.
"That’s it," O'Reilly said. "I knew if I took this to court there would be three years of unrelenting headlines. That’s why I did it."
Wiehl alleged O'Reilly had repeatedly harassed her, had engaged in "a nonconsensual sexual relationship" with her, and had sent gay pornography and other sexually explicit material to her, the paper said.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
If the NYT and WaPo claimed that Trump paid some woman $32 million, I think the Comments on this thread would be completely different.
O’Reilly and his lawyer signed a confidentiality agreement. They have no meaningful way to defend themselves against the news articles.
I rarely watched O’Reilly, and I don't have strong feelings about him, mostly because I never believed he was a real Conservative.
It’s impossible to know if the reporting is accurate or not. I would say ‘not’ only insofar as much of the reporting is piling-on. And you always have to discount what much of the MSM has to say about anyone they regard as ‘conservative’ — which BOR is decidedly NOT.
That said, it’s pretty obvious that BOR was cruising the pool of female reporters at FOX, and those women are getting payback now that the power equation has shifted.
"As part of their deal, O'Reilly agreed to pay 56-year-old Wiehl $32million over a period of time in exchange for her silence and agreement to never sue him or 21st Century Fox. She also signed an affidavit retracting all the allegations against him."
They have a wonderful defense. She retracted her allegations. I'm sorry, just how credible can she be after working with him 18 years without complaint, then threatens after FOX terminates her.
I disagree.
Fox, O’Reilly, and his lawyer have all stated that no one ever made a harassment complaint against O’Reilly, which included no complaints on Fox's anonymous harassment tip line.
Bottom Line For Me: there is no downside - financially or professionally - for a woman who makes an unprovable harassment claim against a well known “Conservative.”
Only women who make unprovable claims against well known certified Liberals get beaten to a pulp, before the Weinstein media firestorm, anyway.
One would think that after being recorded all those years ago he would have at least learned to watch his step.
32 million?
Who pays that amount if there isn’t any proof?
32 million?
Who pays that amount if there isn’t any proof?
He sure was lucky to use Hannity the way he did to pump his new book and try to make Samey Samey Twins with him about false accusations, before Hannity found out about this.
A lot of people would shut up about assault for $32 million. No one is going to take the assault away. She might feel he doesn’t have access any more to a network’s bevy of attractive employees, so he isn’t a danger. And $32 million is a lot of money. It would be very tempting for me to shut up about an assault. If continuing to press charges wouldn’t help anyone else, she might feel that was punishment enough, in a civil case. You can’t get unraped.
I missed his appearance on Hannity.
Maybe because I usually turn Hannity off after the first 30 seconds.
uh huh. How about crying foul somewhere during the 18 year period you are working with the guy, I mean if you really are worried about him being a danger.
So Bill O’Reilly had $32 million in his bank account, which he just took out and handed to Lis Wiehl? Sorry, not buying.
I certainly hope so, her segments were horrible.
There was also a buxom blonde with an accent he brought in weekly for a vocabulary lesson.
She vanished from his lineup without note, much like the body language woman.
Letters from Me-Again Kelly and Gretchen Carlson to O'Reilly HERE
Glenn Beck interviewed O'Reilly today about this. He asked the tough questions that needed to be asked. Worth a listen.
Consider these, and consider that the story comes from The New York Times and The Washington Post, and make up your mind from there.
http://www.tmz.com/2017/10/23/eric-bolling-fires-back-bill-oreilly-nyt-statement-sons-death/
Ex-Fox News Channel anchor Eric Bolling is firing a warning shot to his old co-worker Bill O’Reilly for bringing up his son’s death to the New York Times — the message ... back off.
Bolling released a statement Monday in response to an interview O’Reilly did with the Times over the weekend — in which the fired FNC host said Bolling’s son, Eric Jr., was dead as a result of stories the paper ran about his dad. Eric Sr. doesn’t mince words, even for Bill.
Bolling says, “I believe it is beyond inappropriate for anyone to bring in the tragic death of my son Eric Chase Bolling Jr. Just as Bill O’Reilly had wanted to shield his children from the allegations against him, I hope he will honor my request and avoid any future mentions of my son. My parting from Fox News was in no way connected to ... my son’s passing.”
He goes on to say that the coroner has indicated to him that Eric Jr.’s death was an accident ... and to also take a shot at Bill directly by saying ... “Unlike others who left Fox News amid public allegations and extensive investigations, I parted ways with Fox News in an amicable way and any reference to a firing is flatly wrong.”
ill O’Reilly Threatens to Sue Ex-Lawmaker for $5 Million Over ‘Defamatory’ Facebook Post
http://ktla.com/2017/10/27/bill-oreilly-threatens-to-sue-for-5-million-over-defamatory-facebook-post/
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.