Bill O'Reilly accuser reportedly blocked from going on The View

Bill O'Reilly
(Image credit: Rob Kim/Getty Images)

A woman who has accused Bill O'Reilly of sexual harassment has reportedly been blocked from appearing on The View after the former Fox News host was granted a last-minute restraining order.

Andrea Mackris, a former Fox News producer who settled a sexual harassment lawsuit against O'Reilly in 2004, was set to appear Wednesday on The View to discuss her allegations, but her appearance was canceled due to a court granting O'Reilly a temporary restraining order, The Daily Beast reports.

"We were notified late yesterday about a temporary restraining order issued by a court against Andrea Mackris," an ABC spokesperson said. "We decided to postpone her interview pending further developments."

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Mackris signed a non-disclosure agreement as part of her settlement, and O'Reilly's lawyers reportedly told the court that she intended "to further materially breach her legal obligations tomorrow morning, live on national television." She opened up about her allegations of sexual harassment, including of "lewd, menacing telephone calls and conversations," in an interview with The Daily Beast earlier this month, saying she was doing so despite the NDA. "I may not get the past 17 years back, but there is one way I can retrieve my power from this storm of lies, loss, greed, and grief," she said.

O'Reilly was forced out of Fox News in 2017 due to the sexual harassment allegations against him. He "rushed" to court to get this restraining order after learning of Mackris's planned The View appearance, The Hollywood Reporter writes.

ABC said, however, that "we look forward to welcoming her to The View at a later date." Mackris also told The Daily Beast that "I hope the days of the law allowing the silencing of women are over" and "I will continue to fight for my voice," while O'Reilly's lawyers said that ABC's parent company Disney "did the right thing by cancelling Ms. Mackris' planned appearance on The View."

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan is a staff writer at The Week. A graduate of Hofstra University with a degree in journalism, he also writes about horror films for Bloody Disgusting and has previously contributed to The Cheat Sheet, Heavy, WhatCulture, and more. He lives in New York City surrounded by Star Wars posters.