The Fox News Channel was in complete disarray after its chairman and architect, Roger Ailes, was forced to resign in the midst of sexual harassment allegations. And on May 18th, ten months after his resignation, he died at 77-years-old.
Multiple female staff members had joined together to publicly humiliate the Fox News founder, with the most notable accusation coming from former Fox News star, Megyn Kelly – who had also recently published a memoir describing awkward sexual invites and interactions she had with him.
Then Bill O’Reilly lost his contract with Fox News because of similar sexual harassment allegations, which forced him and the network to pay millions out of pocket.
But O’Reilly, who knew Ailes well, just explained the truth behind what really killed him.
The International Business Times reports:
“Reacting to the news of his ex-boss’ death, former Fox commentator Bill O’Reilly released an op-ed in the USA Today, slamming the public for its harsh criticism of Ailes and blaming their hatred for his untimely demise.
‘Roger was convicted of bad behavior in the court of public opinion, and it was painful for many of us to watch. He, himself, was stunned and never really recovered,’ O’Reilly wrote.
‘It’s easy to make judgments from afar — but fair people know that seeking the truth is a complicated and demanding process. In my opinion, few sought the comprehensive truth about Roger Ailes.’
Describing the former head of Fox as a generous individual who helped leaders such Ronald Reagan, George Bush Sr and Rush Limbaugh gain success, the ousted O’Reilly Factor host opined that his treatment in the public square was unfair.
‘We are living in a rough age, with technological advances changing behaviour and perspective. The downside of that is turning us into a nation where hatred is almost celebrated in some quarters,’ he added.
‘Roger Ailes experienced that hatred and it killed him. That is the truth.’”
And when you consider this is coming from O’Reilly – who knew Ailes a long time, and was also accused of sexual harassment – either one of two things are true.
Either his account carries no weight because they were both guilty, or an orchestrated and snowballing witch-hunt was created by disgruntled female employees to force both of them out of the network news juggernaut, which both had been instrumental in its massive success.
But O’Reilly also spoke about Ailes being a caring man who routinely helped people.
The Hollywood Reporter noted:
“[O’Reilly added] ‘There are very few human beings on this planet who are visionaries. He died in a way that was heartbreaking. His departure from Fox News broke his heart.’
‘For 20-plus years he allowed me to create The O’Reilly Factor. It was Roger who drove the whole network to unprecedented success. I had a hand in it, but he was the guy,’ O’Reilly told his podcast audience on Thursday.
‘He was a tough, gruff guy. Over the years, I saw him do privately – always privately – very kind things that few other TV executives, or any executives, would ever do.
He saved people – routinely, when they got into trouble,’ he said. ‘The list of names are legion, and if you were straight with him, he had your back.’”
And of course the liberal media – clearly jealous of Fox News’ success – bombarded the public with the turmoil these accusations caused.
Roger Ailes spent the last months of his life defending the accusations made against him.
Whose health wouldn’t that effect – especially if they were innocent?