Bill O’Reilly (pictured) has been dropped by his talent agency, United Talent Agency, after it was revealed he paid $32million to settle a sexual harassment claim in February
Bill O’Reilly has been dropped by his talent agency after it was revealed he paid $32million to settle a sexual harassment claim in February.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, United Talent Agency (UTA) told the former Fox News host on Monday evening that it would no longer be representing him after his contract expires at the end of the year.
O’Reilly has long been a client of NS Bienstock Agency, which was acquired by UTA in 2014.
It comes on the heels of The New York Times’ expose reported on Saturday that revealed O’Reilly paid former Fox News legal analyst Lis Wiehl $32million to settle a sexual harassment claim.
O’Reilly has said that he’s being unfairly attacked by a publication that wants to hurt his career.
On Monday, the Times released audio from part of Michael S Schmidt and Emily Steel’s interview with O’Reilly, before the expose was published.
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O’Reilly has long been a client of NS Bienstock Agency, which was acquired by UTA (pictured) in 2014. Reportedly, sources say UTA came under pressure from several Hollywood clients to drop O’Reilly as early as last spring
The reporters had finished their interview with O’Reilly, and had already turned off their main recording device when he went on an angry tirade.
It appears that O’Reilly may have not known that both reporters were still recording the conversation on their smartphones.
‘Why don’t you be human beings for once. This is horrible, it’s horrible what I went through, horrible what my family went through,’ he is heard yelling.
‘This is c**p and you know it. It’s politically and financially motivated. And we can prove it with shocking information.’
‘Bill has already lined up new representation,’ O’Reilly’s representative, Mark Fabiani, said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. Fabiani would not reveal which agency has signed O’Reilly.
‘This is c**p and you know it!’ O’Reilly yelled at reporters Emily Steel (left) and Michael S. Schmidt (right) during their interview. The reporters were recording the conversation on their phones
The move was not unexpected. Reportedly, sources say UTA came under pressure from several Hollywood clients to drop O’Reilly as early as last spring when it was revealed that he had settled harassment claims after the sex harassment scandal involving former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes.
At that time Fox News parent 21st Century Fox had taken a public stand against harassment and settled former host Gretchen Carlson’s claims against Ailes for $20million, which included a public apology from the company.