An unrepentant Bill O’Reilly insists he’s glad to be out of the ‘nasty TV business’ as he claims he was only fired after the far-left and media plotted to ‘destroy’ him.
O’Reilly had been a ratings monster for Fox News during his two-decade tenure, but was forced out in April after it emerged five secret sexual harassment accusers were paid $13million.
Months later, he still seems bitter about the decision.
‘Once you get a famous name, and once you’re in the political arena, the combination is devastating,’ he told the Hollywood Reporter in a lengthy interview, where he blamed the left and the media for ‘attacking’ him and plotting to ‘destroy’ him.
‘If they can get you, they’re going to get you. And so we warded it off for 20 years, and then finally, you know, all of this happened, and that was it.’
An unrepentant Bill O’Reilly insists he’s glad to be out of the ‘nasty TV business’ as he claims he was only fired after the far-left and media plotted to ‘destroy’ him
O’Reilly was ousted from the O’Reilly Factor (pictured) on Fox in April in the wake of sexual harassment allegations
But he remains unrepentant about the claims that got him fired, claiming the accusations are false, adding that ‘stuff will come out.’
O’Reilly adds that he appreciated Donald Trump coming to his defense when the sexual harassment claims emerged as ‘he has been in the same circumstance.’
‘The press will take any allegation and make it a conviction,’ he said.
O’Reilly insists he doesn’t miss his Fox show, adding that he was ‘under attack constantly for 16 years.’
‘The business got really nasty,’ he added. ‘Once I became No. 1, once we passed Larry King, it was every single day.
Former Fox News television presenter Bill O’Reilly launched his new half-hour Internet show
‘Then you have the business, you have the competition. I mean, you don’t think those people are sad that I’m not sitting in that chair anymore, do you?’
In fact, he claimed that Fox News coverage had suffered without him.
‘They’re still a very strong brand… But I’m a different agent. I do things differently, and that’s why we were very successful. When I watched the Harvey coverage on television, there was a sameness to it. And that would not have been the case on our show.’
O’Reilly, 67, was fired by Fox News earlier this year amid growing accusations he sexually harassed female colleagues.
Two of the women who received settlements after accusing O’Reilly of harassment, Andrea Mackris and Juliet Ruddy, stated that they believed he was masturbating when he called them up for unwanted phone sex conversations.
His ex-wife also claimed in court and divorce documents that O’Reilly had abused her, allegedly beating her and slamming her against a wall.
The news anchor still strongly denies the multiple claims. But while he seemed to accept being fired, O’Reilly said the method in which he was sacked was ‘sad.’
‘I’m not, you know, one of these guys that wants to hang on to the cliffs,’ he said. ‘You don’t want me working for you, that’s fine.
‘But the way it was done, I’m over in Rome [on vacation]. My [legal] team was caught by surprise because we had an amazing amount of exculpatory stuff that we had presented. And it just — it was sad. That’s the word, sad.’
He is now working on his own ‘operation’ to take on his ‘declining’ old employer.
The ousted Fox News star launched his comeback last month with a daily online show on his website for premium subscribers, originating from what he called a ‘new prototype studio.’
He requested input from viewers for what he characterized as a ‘sneak preview
The aesthetic of O’Reilly’s new ‘No Spin News’ room is a far cry from his former Fox studio he called home for more than 20 years.
But O’Reilly’s signature bombast and bluster appeared not to have eroded since leaving cable news in April.
Among other topics, O’Reilly discussed President Donald Trump’s ‘fire and fury’ comments about North Korea, a country he described as a ‘pain in the butt for decades.’
O’Reilly has produced a daily podcast called the ‘No Spin News,’ which this video startup apparently builds upon, since he was fired from Fox News in the wake of allegations of sexual harassment.
He said his goal at the end of the program is to ‘bring everybody into the annual Premium Membership fold and spread the word.’
O’Reilly claims his project is ‘extremely lucrative… and that’ll only grow.’
‘I’ve got to feel the odds of success are high,’ he says, ‘because I don’t need to do a project just for the sake of doing a project. I got plenty of stuff.’
He also claims he’s fielded numerous offers to return to cable TV but hasn’t decided on anything yet. One offer that was publicly made, and rescinded, was by One America News, after O’Reilly said he wasn’t ready to commit to a long term project, he said.
However, his Fox firing is having an impact on his career in other ways.
The Nation Geographic Channel — which like Fox News is a 21st Century Fox company – pulled out of an adaptation of his historical book Killing Patton while it was in preproduction. O’Reilly is also working on another in the series, Killing England.