One of Bill O'Reilly's accusers says she felt triumphant when the Fox News Channel host was sacked following an investigation into claims of harassment by women.
"People who hated Bill O'Reilly still tuned in to watch", said Chris Ruddy, chief executive of Newsmax, a conservative-leaning media group. Now, a series of sexual harassment complaints has brought down O'Reilly, who built his Fox career on pandering to the right wing and hurling insults at President Obama, President Clinton and Hillary Clinton. And there might also be global business pressures on its parent company, 21st Century Fox, that factored into the decision.
Billy O'Reilly's name has already been erased from his long-running Fox News show, The O'Reilly Factor, in the wake of his dramatic firing after 20 years at the network.
It was a humiliating blow to one of the biggest United States media names, a veteran broadcaster at Fox News for two decades who counted President Donald Trump among his personal supporters and whose ratings soared in defiance of his alleged abusive behavior toward women. It was the latest chapter in a story that began with the ouster of Fox News CEO Roger Ailes last summer over similar allegations of rampant sexual harassment problems at Fox News.
"You know, more power to the good things that Fox News is doing but, yep, culture had to change there", she said.
Ousted South Korean President Charged with Bribery
Park, 65, has been behind bars at at a detention centre on the outskirts of Seoul since her arrest last month. Choi allegedly used some of the donations for personal gain.
However, O'Reilly said that the claims are unfounded and that his departure is disheartening.
Ratings for the O'Reilly-free "Factor" Wednesday night were on par with O'Reilly's recent performance in the 8 p.m. time slot, according to Nielsen data. "We have full confidence that the network will continue to be a powerhouse in cable news". Both sources also said that because of O'Reilly's status as the network's No. 1 host, his contract extended through the next presidential election.
It seems a string of such claims followed by millions of dollars in payouts weren't enough to get him ousted.
After the accusations emerged, Trump said: "I think he shouldn't have settled; personally I think he shouldn't have settled".
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