Fox News Channel personality Bill O’Reilly will not return to host his top rated show The O’Reilly Factor, network parent company 21st Century Fox said Wednesday.
In a statement released this afternoon, 21st Century Fox said that “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.”
O’Reilly, who has been on vacation since April 12 and was set to return April 24, has been dogged recently by several sexual harassment claims, for which Fox News and O’Reilly have paid $13 million to settle, according to an April 1 New york Times article. Several advertisers have since pulled their commercials from The O’Reilly Factor, adding financial hardship to pressure from activists and women’s rights groups.
O’Reilly’s dismissal is a huge blow to Fox News, which has dominated cable network ratings since 2016. The network, bolstered by The O’Reilly Factor, has been the most watched cable network in primetime for the 12th time in the last 13 weeks and has consistently been the most watched cable show on a total day basis.
