Brother of Bill O'Reilly accuser says Fox News fired him unfairly

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Former Fox News foreign correspondent John Huddy says he was unfairly fired by the network on Monday, targeted because his sister, Juliet Huddy, filed a complaint against former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly, accusing him of inappropriate behavior.

Based in Jerusalem, Huddy was terminated shortly before his sister appeared on former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly's new NBC show Megyn Kelly Today. Juliet Huddy settled with 21st Century Fox in September 2016, and because of her settlement, she was limited on what she could say about the matter. In an interview Tuesday with The Hollywood Reporter, John Huddy said he was told by Fox News he was being fired for "inappropriate and unprofessional behavior," but never given an example. In a statement, Fox News said that "following a thorough investigation into a physical altercation earlier this month," the company decided to sever ties with Huddy, adding, "the network's investigation concluded last week, and due to observation of the Sabbath on Friday, terminated Huddy's employment" Monday morning.

Huddy told The Hollywood Reporter he exchanged words but not punches with a freelance photographer on Oct. 12, when the photographer pushed a cart into him at the Barcelona airport. He said things were already tense between the pair, because the photographer had trash-talked women, including Juliet Huddy, who have accused O'Reilly of sexual harassment. "I'm not trying to play the victim or be a martyr," Huddy said. "As journalists it's our job to expose injustice, and this is brutal." His father, John Huddy Sr., was close to late Fox News chairman Roger Ailes and served as a consultant until Ailes was fired amid his own sexual harassment scandal. "They hurt my sister, they hurt my father, and now they're trying to hurt me," Huddy said.

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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.