Bill O’Reilly spoke out about his ousting from Fox News after more than two decades as host of The O’Reilly Factor. The journalist was axed after news broke that multiple women had accused him of sexual harassment and that the network had quietly reached settlements with five women with payments totaling to around $13 million.
The conservative commentator, 67, who has vehemently denied all accusations, returned with a new episode of his podcast “No Spin News” on Monday, April 24, and addressed the scandal. “I am sad that I’m not on television anymore. I was very surprised how it all turned out,” he said. “I can’t say a lot, because there’s so much stuff going on right now. But I can tell you that I’m very confident the truth will come out. And when it does — I don’t know if you’re going to be surprised, but I think you’re going to be shaken, as I am.”
O’Reilly, who was dismissed while he was vacationing in Italy last week, added that viewers will soon have a clearer picture of what happened. “Now, I can’t say anymore because I just don’t want to influence the flow of information. I don’t want the media to take what I say and misconstrue it,” he said. “You, as a loyal O’Reilly listener, have a right to know, I think, down the lane what exactly happened. And we are working in that direction, okay?”
The Old School: Life in the Sane Lane author previously broke his silence with a statement on April 19. “Over the past 20 years at Fox News, I have been extremely proud to launch and lead one of the most successful news programs in history,” the statement said. “It is tremendously disheartening that we part ways due to completely unfounded claims. But that is the unfortunate reality many of us in the public eye must live with today.”
He said that he will record the current-events podcast four times a week with hopes that it will eventually turn into “a genuine news program.” The podcast is available on his website with a subscription for $4.95 per month or $54.95 per year.
