Maxine Waters has a message for Bill O'Reilly: 'I cannot be intimidated'

Rep. Maxine Waters.
(Image credit: Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images)

Rep. Maxine Waters multitasked on Tuesday night, dressing down Fox News host Bill O'Reilly while at the same time sharing an empowering message for women.

On Tuesday morning, Fox & Friends had shown a clip of Waters speaking out against President Trump. "I didn't hear a word she said," O'Reilly told the Fox News morning hosts. "I was looking at the James Brown wig." Waters hit back later that day. "I'm a strong black woman and I cannot be intimidated," she said on All In with Chris Hayes. "I cannot be undermined."

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Speaking directly to the women watching, Waters implored them not to "allow these right-wing talking heads, these dishonorable people, to intimidate you or scare you. Be who you are, do what you do, and let us get on with discussing the real issues of this country." When a woman "stands up and speaks truth to power," people will attempt to "put her down," Waters added. "I am not going to be put down, I am not going anywhere. I am going to stay on the issues." For his part, O'Reilly told Time his comment about her hair was "dumb. I apologize."

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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.