It has not been the best of weeks for Mr Bill O’Reilly. He’ll be glad tomorrow is Sunday for that matter, he’ll be glad the end of October is near and we can all focus on Halloween probably.
Often one finds that the higher people rise, the lower we would like to see them fall. Nothing more so true for the former star of Fox news, who at the beginning of the week made it known that he had paid $32 million to settle sexual assault charges against some undisclosed colleague at Fox (I bet a lot of work-related bets were made on that one all over the US this week. Was it Gretchen, Megan, …. Anyone?)
It turned out yesterday to be an unknown legal analyst called Ms Lis Wiehl.
Then yesterday Mr O’Reilly decided to end his week in spectacular style, by threatening to sue a former politician who dished the dirt on him in a Facebook post.
Yes, a former New Jersey state legislator found a loophole in those non-disclosure agreements. His ex-girlfriend might have been bound by that contract not to speak out against Mr O’Reilly, that didn’t mean that he, Mr Michael Panter, couldn’t: “I am speaking the truth, and expect my account to be fully corroborated. His actions give me a small sense of what victims must feel when speaking up against powerful men, and why more men hesitate to do so.”
Mr O’Reilly of course became famous for his ‘We’ll do it live’ outburst which immediately told us the man had a very short fuse. But other than that, we must admit he lived up to all expectations of reporting over the last decade (and I am certainly a big fan of his books), and even Democrats respected him as a worthy opponent when he debated Jon Stewart on every possible topic. Yes, Mr O’Reilly can behave like a bully and yes, he’s had some sins in the past, but legally, all has now been arranged.
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No matter what you think of the man, O’Reilly is still hoping for a comeback. And unlike Weinstein, I didn’t hear him rape anyone (unless I’m mistaken).
Perhaps he should have quit when it was time to do so, but things are as they are, and Mr O’Reilly’s show will probably be watched by millions again when all the dust settles.
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