Previously, Bill O’Reilly was let go from Fox News after he was hit with sexual harassment allegations. Because of that, he ended up agreeing to a settlement that cost him $32 million to be paid out to Fox News analyst Lis Wiehl, the woman who accused him. According to reports, O’Reilly repeatedly harassed the woman by allegedly sending gay pornography to her, as well as engaging in a non-consensual sexual relationship.
As the claims arose, reports noted that 21st Century Fox, the company that owns Fox News, knew about the allegations against O’Reilly made by the woman. NY Times pointed out that O’Reilly’s settlement was the sixth agreement made by Fox News to settle harassment allegations against O’Reilly. Although O’Reilly was previously fired in the heat of the press surrounding the allegations, it was just revealed that Fox actually proceeded to conduct contract negotiations with the personality earlier this year. O’Reilly and Fox News came to an agreement that gave him a four-year extension with a payout of $25 million per year.
21 Century Fox executive Rupert Murdoch reportedly decided to stand by O’Reilly, despite firing him publicly after the allegations spread like wildfire in the media. According to the NY Times, Murdoch buckled down on his decision while the company was in the midst of trying to show and convince employees that the network had removed bad elements in the workplace, and cleared up unnecessary behaviors in the workplace.
Source: nytimes.com
