Unlike Fox News’ correspondent Geraldo Rivera and former On the Record host Greta Van Susteren, Bill O’Reilly won’t soon be delivering a statement of regret over his support of Roger Ailes during his sexual harassment scandal.
On Tuesday, O’Reilly appeared on the Today Show and appeared to deny telling Seth Meyers that he stood “100 percent” behind the former FOX News CEO. He assured hosts that he was only talking about his business relationship with Ailes. There’s no telling whether O’Reilly truly forgot or if he’s flat-out denying the words (or even their meaning), but he did indeed say them. Savannah Guthrie asked, “You’ve been on record saying you support him 100 percent — but have you learned anything in these last few months that makes you change your mind about that?”
“Well, first of all, my comments were made to Seth Meyers about what kind of a boss Roger Ailes was, not about the case,” O’Reilly replied.
“I don’t know anything about the case, OK? Nothing. So he was a good boss, best boss I’ve ever had, and that’s what I said to Seth Meyers. That’s all I’ve said. And I’m not going to say anything else because I work for this company and I don’t really have any insight into anything. So for once in my life I’m going to keep my big mouth shut.”
O’Reilly said that although Ailes’ ouster was a “sad situation for everyone involved,” it didn’t change the culture at Fox News. “Roger Ailes was very good to me, and I feel very bad for his family,” the O’Reilly Factor host said.
“In this country, every famous, powerful, or wealthy person is a target,” O’Reilly told Seth Meyers in July. “You’re a target, I’m a target. Anytime, somebody could come out and sue us, attack us, go to the press, or anything like that … Until the United States adopts the British system of civil law, whereby if you file a frivolous lawsuit and you lose, the judge has a right to make you pay all court costs … I stand behind Roger 100 percent.”
