Few people could deny that liberals have been having things rough of late. The auto-nutshot that was Brexit, the shock victory of President Donald Trump over his more competent rival, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. There has been little to crow about really.
Which is why the good news — when it comes — is so much more precious.
When we hear that Trump’s approval ratings have dipped lower than a three-year-old’s waist. When his Islamophobia is called out for what it is and blocked by the court. Watching Sean Spicer attempt to turn a 20-point swing to the Democrats in Georgia into some kind of win.
Oh, and of course the simple joy of seeing a lying, misogynistic and alleged serial sexual predator get his comeuppance.
Nothing But A Hound Dog
Today, Fox News ended its association with long-time anchorman Bill O’Reilly in the wake of allegations of sexual impropriety. Earlier this month, the New York Times revealed that O’Reilly and Fox News had paid $13 million in order to settle complaints brought by no fewer than five former female colleagues.
Soon after, major advertisers including Hyundai, BMW, T. Rowe Price and GlaxoSmithKline either suspended or removed their ads from his program.
In a statement, Fox News’ parent company, 20th century Fox, said:
“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.”
This might have come as a surprise to O’Reilly who told viewers just last week that he was taking a pre-planned vacation. He said:
“I like to take time off around Easter, it’s calming.”
Before adding:
“I booked a trip that should be terrific, not going to tell you where it is, but we have a contest on billoreilly.com. Guess where Bill is going?”
Whether those who answered ‘upstairs to clear out his desk,’ are eligible for a prize or not is as of yet unclear.
Lying All the Time
O’Reilly’s dismissal raises new questions about Fox News’ commitment to cleaning up its act in regards to an apparently systemic culture of sexual harassment. Last year, Fox CEO and former Trump adviser Roger Ailes was also fired after a seemingly endless cascade of sexual harassment allegations caught up with, and then overwhelmed, the 76-year-old self-imagined Lothario.
And yet, moves to clean up house seems to have been mostly cosmetic. Indeed, as was reported in the Times, Fox continued to settle lawsuits with O’Reilly accusers in the wake of Aile’s dismissal and even renewed his contract.
Still, without advertisers to prop up the right-wing pundits’ reported $20 million a year salary, there was little hope that O’Reilly could continue acting as the GOP’s very own version of Chemical Ali.
Fox News host Tucker Carlson will take over O’Reilly’s 8 p.m. time slot next Monday.
Watch some of Bill O’Reilly’s worst moments:
Featured Image: Screenshot Via Facebook.
