though it s now, as i said, an enormous pile of information. you would think at some point the facts creep in but i think it s interesting to see long-term now whether a guy like o reilly can come back. can another network hire him after all this. when you have six or seven women coming forward, it s no longer in doubt. it s not so much about o reilly but a network overall. b.j., back to 21st century fox, the parent company. they issued a statement to the the new york times saying it was not aware of the amount of o reilly s settlement and described it as a personal issue between o reilly and his accuser. does 21st century fox bear any responsibility in this scandal? it depends. it is completely viable the lawyers in this case, the stories coming out with regard to settlements is it that bill o reilly personally settled and handled the matter without filing of a lawsuit here. this was a draft complaint.
so fox news is in the middle of another sexual harassment scandal after a damming new report by the new york times. according to the times fox news renewed bill o reilly s contract in january knowing he settled with a fox news analyst knowing he repeatedly harassed her and knowing he september her solicit material. $32 million is the amount the new york times reports bill o reilly paid to long time fox news analyst wheel. according to the times wheel threatened to sue o reilly for alleged sexual misconduct. a month late fox news renewed his contract for 25 million a year. after the times revealed the existence of other women who accused o reilly of sexual harassment or verbal abuse. here is what he told nbc news
about the sexual allegations against him just last month. my conscience is clear. what i have done is organized a legal team to get the truth to the american people. i with go to sleep at night very well, knowing that i never mistreated anyone on my watch in 42 years. reporter: the 32 million dollar payout to wheel is far higher than any of the previously known settlements. the new york times expose is when he is seeking a new job meaning he could be challenging fox. he can t believe the leaks about the wheel settlement might be coming from fox to hurt him and o reilly spokesman writes the following. let s discuss this and for that we bring in b.j. bernstein
walsh and per kweeta to go public with their stories. it was important that they did did go public because after they broking this story in april the question was did the story have sflegz and the story had legs because lisa bloom had clients who were willing to go public, put a name, a face, a voice on these accusations and to keep it in the public sphere. the advertisers left the show, they stayed off the show in part because the media attention was as intense as it was. i want to play four what carolyn heldman, one of the women who has accused o reilly of sexual harassmentd tol my colleague this week. we need to kw the full extent of bill o reilly s damage to women s lives and we need to know the full extent of what happens when a corporation throws money at a problem instead of addressing it for a decade and a half and allows smin believe to be a serial sexual harasser to wreak havoc. it was a top down culture at fox
i was mortified because not only did it go was it sexual, i took that as a very plantational remark. such a blatant person with such a high profile making me feel uncomfortable, but then not acknowledging even acknowledging me. as a human. perquita burgess, a former temp worker at fox news detailed this morning on the view. burgess is just one of several women who have accused o reilly of harassment, leading to yesterday s announcement that fox and o reilly agreed he will not return to the network after over 20 years on air. today, we learned how much o reilly will get paid as he leaves. two sources confirm to nbc news o reilly will exit fox news with up to $25 million, one year of his salary. fox news parent company, 21st century fox has now spent more than $85 million on payouts related to sexual harassment allegations according to the