Bill O'Reilly says 'forces of evil' were behind his Fox News firing
Bill O'Reilly is blaming his ouster from Fox News not on the multiple allegations of sexual harassment made against him, but rather "forces of evil and darkness."
That's apparently code for liberal activists, and in an interview with Breitbart News, the former O'Reilly Factor host said he thinks "people have to realize, No. 1, how severe the problem has become, and No. 2, that it's going to take courage to fight it. I'm the poster boy for that. I've been under attack for 16 years, and finally, these forces of evil and darkness got me." If that sounds murky, don't worry — O'Reilly said that "someday, all of it will be exposed."
He made similar comments to The Hollywood Reporter, saying he was the victim of "vicious" and "disgusting" attacks on social media. The industry "got really nasty," especially "once we passed Larry King" at CNN in the ratings, and then the hits came "every single day." O'Reilly was fired from Fox News this spring after The New York Times reported about sexual harassment allegations and settlements O'Reilly reached with several women; he refused to discuss this with The Hollywood Reporter, referring questions to his lawyers, except to say "no one was mistreated on my watch."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
Critics’ choice: Watering holes for gourmandsFeature An endless selection of Mexican spirits, a Dublin-inspired bar, and an upscale Baltimore pub
-
Argentinian beef is at the center of American farmers’ woesThe Explainer ‘It feels like a slap in the face to rural America,’ said one farmer
-
‘Businesses that lose money and are uncompetitive won’t survive’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Warner Bros. explores sale amid Paramount bidsSpeed Read The media giant, home to HBO and DC Studios, has received interest from multiple buying parties
-
Gold tops $4K per ounce, signaling financial uneaseSpeed Read Investors are worried about President Donald Trump’s trade war
-
Electronic Arts to go private in record $55B dealspeed read The video game giant is behind ‘The Sims’ and ‘Madden NFL’
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fineSpeed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in IntelSpeed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to ChinaSpeed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with DisneySpeed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B dealSpeed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
