21st Century Fox will investigate sexual harassment claim against Bill O'Reilly

A woman walks by an ad for Bill O&#039;Reilly&#039;s television show.

(Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

published 10 April 2017

21st Century Fox, the parent company of Fox News, announced on Sunday it will investigate a sexual harassment claim against anchor Bill O'Reilly that was phoned into a hotline run by the network.

Wendy Walsh, a psychologist who once frequently appeared on The O'Reilly Factor, and her lawyer, Lisa Bloom, posted a video online last week showing the pair calling the corporate hotline and making a complaint against O'Reilly. Walsh says that in 2013, O'Reilly walked back his offer to get her a job on the network after she rejected his invitation to go back to his hotel room.

In a statement, 21st Century Fox said it "investigates all complaints" and has asked a law firm to "continue assisting the company in these serious matters." Last week, The New York Times reported that Fox News and O'Reilly have paid $13 million to settle with five women who have accused the host of sexual harassment and verbal abuse. O'Reilly said he is being unfairly targeted because of his status, and has not mentioned the scandal on his show. In the aftermath of the report, several major companies, including Mercedes, BMW of North America, and T. Rowe Price, have yanked their ads from airing during The O'Reilly Factor, the top-rated cable news program.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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