The Hollywood Reporter’s 2016 35 Most Powerful People In Media
FOX News star
Bill O'Reilly is caught in yet another sordid sex scandal — with leaked documents suggesting that a reported six-figure settlement was paid out over alleged sexual harassment by the host of "The O'Reilly Factor!"
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A letter sent by Juliet Huddy — once a popular FOX News figure who appeared regularly on O'Reilly's show — reportedly showed her giving notice of a lawsuit where she claimed that she'd been demoted to a New York City FOX affiliate "in retaliation for rebuffing Mr. O'Reilly's advances." Sources now say that Juliet received a "high six-figure" settlement in early Sept. 2016. The next month, Juliet surprised media insiders by abruptly leaving her position as a news anchor at FOX 5 New York.
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The allegations in the letter include complaints made against O'Reilly after she went to see him in a hotel room while "return[ing] a room key," and charges that he attempted to kiss Juliet at his home in Long Island. FOX insiders say that O'Reilly denied the charges, and the popular host didn't make a personal payout as part of the settlement.
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It's yet another humiliation for O'Reilly, though, who's already endured other charges of sexual harassment in the workplace. In addition to
blasting Ailes in a lawsuit, former FOX News employee Andrea Tantaros also accused O'Reilly of chasing her around his Long Island mansion!
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The lawsuit said that O'Reilly "started sexually harassing [Andrea] by, (a) asking her to come to stay with him on Long Island where it would be “very private,” and (b) telling her on more than one occasion that he could “see [her] as a wild girl,” and that he believed that she had a “wild side.”
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The Hollywood Reporter’s 2016 35 Most Powerful People In Media
Claims of O'Reilly's office harassment first came to light in 2004, after he attempted to file a preemptive lawsuit against
Andrea Mackris — a producer on his show who had also accused him of repeated sexual harassment. She had filed a $60 million lawsuit, with allegations that included O'Reilly offering her "sex lessons," and propositioning Andrea and one of her friends by saying they should "go to a hotel together and have the time of [their] lives." Andrea's lawsuit was eventually settled out of court.
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Bill O’Reilly and wife
O'Reilly hasn't had much better luck in court documents about his divorces, either — with The ENQUIRER revealing how
he persuaded a judge to seal details of the $10 million lawsuit he filed against ex-wife Maureen McPhilmy when she won custody of their kids in 2016.
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The court papers included charges by O'Reilly's teenage daughter that she once saw him dragging her mom down a staircase by the neck! But despite the multiple court cases, O'Reilly still seems set to remain FOX News' biggest star — especially with Megyn Kelly out of the picture!
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