Geraldo Rivera has a really weird way of showing his support for Roger Ailes

Geraldo Rivera.
(Image credit: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)

Most people, when defending someone against accusations of sexual harassment, wouldn't compare their friend to the enraged bear that attempted to kill Leonardo DiCaprio's character in The Revenant. Then again, most people aren't Geraldo Rivera.

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On Tuesday, Rivera, a correspondent-at-large for Fox News, declared his support for Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes, who last week was accused of sexual harassment in a lawsuit filed by former anchor Gretchen Carlson (six other women publicly accused him of inappropriate conduct after the suit was filed). In a mind-bending tweet that was supposed to put Ailes in a good light, Rivera wrote: "I've known him 40 years. He's about as flirty as the grizzly in #TheRevenant. I stand with Roger Ailes."

For those who haven't seen the 2015 film, DiCaprio's character was attacked by a grizzly bear who, while definitely not winking and acting coy with Leo, was extremely brutal and aggressive — odd traits to play up in a person accused of sexual harassment. By equating flirtation with harassment, the tweet serves more as an insensitive irritant than as definitive proof that his boss is innocent, but hey, if Rivera — the same man who was certain he'd find all sorts of treasures inside Al Capone's vault — says Ailes is as "flirty as a grizzly," then that settles it. Case closed, everybody go home.

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Catherine Garcia

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.