O’Reilly Survives Mounting Sexual Harassment Suits

Fox News continues to stand by Bill O’Reilly, one of its most valuable assets, despite the growing number of women receiving millions in payouts to avoid sexual harassment lawsuits. The New York Times reports that five women have received a total of $13 million in payouts in exchange for not pursuing litigation or speaking about their accusations against O’Reilly. Two of those settlements came after Fox dismissed its former chairman, Roger Ailes, in the wake of a harassment scandal. The company said then that it would not tolerate behavior that “disrespects women or contributes to an uncomfortable work environment.” The women who made allegations against O’Reilly complain about verbal abuse, lewd comments, unwanted advances, and phone calls in which it sounded as though O’Reilly was masturbating. “21st Century Fox takes matters of workplace behavior very seriously,” the company said in a statement to the Times. “Notwithstanding the fact that no current or former Fox News employee ever took advantage of the 21st Century Fox hotline to raise a concern about Bill O’Reilly, even anonymously, we have looked into these matters over the last few months and discussed them with Mr. O’Reilly. While he denies the merits of these claims, Mr. O’Reilly has resolved those he regarded as his personal responsibility. Mr. O’Reilly is fully committed to supporting our efforts to improve the environment for all our employees at Fox News.”