April 1, 2017

$13 million settlement to five women who accused Bill O'Reilly

Washington Examiner- A total of $13 million in settlement payouts have been received by five women who accused Fox News host Bill O'Reilly of harassment, according to a report Saturday.

An investigation by the New York Times found either O'Reilly or Fox News' parent company, 21st Century Fox, paid the women in exchange for agreeing to not pursue litigation or speak about their accusations of sexual harassment or other types of inappropriate behavior.

The women, not identified in the report, either worked for O'Reilly or appeared on his show. The accusations date at least as far back as 2004.

It was just last summer that Fox News' former chairman, Roger Ailes, resigned amid a sexual harassment scandal. At the time, the network said it did not tolerate behavior that "disrespects women or contributes to an uncomfortable work environment."

A statement from 21st Century Fox said the company "looked into these matters over the last few months and discussed them" with O'Reilly.

"21st Century Fox takes matters of workplace behavior very seriously," the statement sent to the Times read. "Notwithstanding the fact that no current or former Fox News employee ever took advantage of the 21st Century Fox hotline to raise a concern about Bill O'Reilly, even anonymously, we have looked into these matters over the last few months and discussed them with Mr. O'Reilly. While he denies the merits of these claims, Mr. O'Reilly has resolved those he regarded as his personal responsibility. Mr. O'Reilly is fully committed to supporting our efforts to improve the environment for all our employees at Fox News."

A mathematical model of Bill O'Reilly


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