The Fox News prime-time host, Bill O’Reilly has been fired from the company after increased allegations involving sexual harassment.
O’Reilly’s career has long been protected by the company after he was accused by multiple women of sexual harassment that saw him reach settlements totaling to $13 million with five of them as reported two weeks ago by New York Times.
“After a thorough and careful review of the allegations, the company and Bill O’Reilly have agreed that Bill O’Reilly will not be returning to the Fox News Channel.” parent company 21st Century Fox said in a statement.
O’Reilly, who has been on vacation, had not commented on the matter at the time of this reporting. His attorney, however, issued a statement accusing liberal opponents of ”smear campaign”
Fox has already adjusted their programming schedule, airing Tucker Carlson’s show an hour earlier, in O’Reilly’s 8 p.m. ET slot, and moving the “The Five” from 5p.m to 9 p.m.
O’Reilly loses his newly signed multi-year contract which was signed by executives ignoring the accusations that were already being reported.
The “O’Reilly Factor” generated $178 million in ad revenue in 2015 as estimated by Kantar Media.