Bill O'Reilly agreed to pay a sixth sexual harassment accuser $32million in an astronomical settlement in January, weeks before signing a new $100million contract with Fox, it has been revealed.
The revelation was made on Saturday in a report by The New York Times which describes for the first time the allegations against O'Reilly by Lis Wiehl, a former Fox News legal analyst who regularly appeared on his show.
According to the Times, her complaints included claims of repeated harassment, a non-consensual sexual relationship and the sending of gay pornography and other sexually explicit material to her.
He and the network had already settled the claims of five other women who made similar allegations.
As part of their deal, O'Reilly agreed to pay 56-year-old Wiehl $32million over a period of time in exchange for her silence and agreement to never sue him or 21st Century Fox. She also signed an affidavit retracting all the allegations against him.
O'Reilly pointed to that affidavit on Saturday in a furious response to the Times article which he labeled a 'smear piece'.
His attorney shared a photograph of the legal document signed by Wiehl which made no mention of the sum he agreed to pay.
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In January this year, Bill O'Reilly agreed to give an accuser $32million in a huge settlement which he finalized weeks before resigning with Fox
The settlement was given to Lis Wiehl, a 56-year-old legal expert who regularly appeared on O'Reilly's show between 2001 and 2016
21st Century Fox knew about her complaints and her threat to sue O'Reilly but was assured by the star and his lawyer that they would handle it personally but as part of her agreement with the star, she stopped working for the network.
Once he had reached his deal with Wiehl, O'Reilly's lawyers told the network it had been settled but did not disclose the cash amount he agreed to pay her.
Weeks later, he was given a record-breaking contract extension which earned him $25million a year over four years.
The huge sum was an effort to ensure he would stay at the network which was still reeling from the scandal engulfing ousted chairman Roger Ailes and the departure of Megyn Kelly, one of its biggest stars.
O'Reilly's agreement with Wiehl brings the total number of settlements given to women who have accused him of sexual misconduct to six and the total reported amount of cash paid out to around $45million.
Wiehl is a legal expert who regularly appeared on Fox News shows to offer expert advice.
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ShareShe joined Fox News in 2001 after working with O'Reilly on his radio show for seven years.
O'Reilly took credit for her hiring by Fox and the pair appeared on-screen together for years afterwards, demonstrating a playful on-screen relationship that at times seemed somewhat strained.
She appeared on his show along with Fox hosts Kimberly Guilfoyle and Megyn Kelly to debate legal stories and at times bore the brunt of his jokes.
O'Reilly believed they were friends and he helped promote her fictional books in YouTube videos and plugged them on his show.
In one awkward video, she is seen nudging him on the knee as she playfully discusses the plot of one book, Hand of Fate, which tells the story of the murder of a popular and controversial TV and radio host.
At one stage, O'Reilly held up the back of the book to comment on her 'cute' author photograph.
He often joked that the book was written about him and that she wanted to kill him in real life, a claim she laughed off on-camera.
On Saturday, O'Reilly published the affidavit sworn by Wiehl which he said the Times 'ignored'
Wiehl and O'Reilly worked together on radio shows before she joined Fox News as an analyst in 2001. He helped her promote her two books and appeared in an awkward interview above in 2010 with her
During the 2010 video, he held up the back of her book to reveal her 'cute' photograph and joked it had been photoshopped
Wiehl appeared with Megyn Kelly at times on O'Reilly's show to discuss legal stories. The pair are pictured in 2009
She was teased on-camera by O'Reilly and co-star Kimberly Guilfoyle during another appearance in 2010
O'REILLY'S RESPONSE: IT'S A SMEAR PIECE
Mark Fabiani, O'Reilly's lawyer, issued this statement on Saturday after The New York Times published its piece.
'Once again, The New York Times has maliciously smeared Bill O'Reilly, this time even failing to print a
from his former lawyer, Lis Wiehl, repudiating all allegations against Bill O'Reilly. The Times ignored that evidence, sworn under oath, and chose to rely on unsubstantiated allegations, anonymous sources and incomplete leaked or stolen documents.
Here are the facts: after the Chairman of Fox News Roger Ailes was fired in July 2016, dozens of women accused scores of male employees of Fox News of harassment - including the current co-president of Fox News Jack Abernathy.
21st Century Fox settled almost all these cases, paying out close to $100 million dollars. Six months after Mr. Ailes left the company, Fox News Corporation signed Bill O'Reilly to a record breaking new contract after the company had analyzed and considered all allegations against him.
In its first article about Mr. O'Reilly on April 1st, The New York Times printed inaccurate settlement figures while fully understanding that O'Reilly and his counsel are legally bound by confidentiality and cannot set the record straight.
In its latest diatribe against Bill O'Reilly, the Times printed leaked information provided by anonymous sources that is out of context, false, defamatory, and obviously designed to embarrass Bill O'Reilly and to keep him from competing in the marketplace.
Finally, in the more than 20 years Bill O'Reilly worked at Fox News, not one complaint was filed against him with the Human Resources Department or Legal Department by a coworker, even on the anonymous hotline. The New York Times has copies of two letters written by 21st Century Fox lawyers attesting to that fact.
The Times failed to print them, too.
<!- - ad: https://mads.dailymail.co.uk/v8/us/news/none/article/other/mpu_factbox.html?id=mpu_factbox_1 - ->AdvertisementDuring an appearance with Megyn Kelly in April 2008, he said it was her 'high school picture' on the back of her book.
Wiehl's last appearance on Fox was in December 2016. Days later, she sent a letter to O'Reilly and to 21st Century Fox threatening to sue him.
She claims that throughout their working relationship, he regularly sexually harassed her and once sent her explicit gay pornography. O'Reilly maintains that he had been sent the material by a troll and that he was only forwarding it on to her because she was one of his lawyers.
O'Reilly's lawyers stepped in and took over negotiations privately which 21st Century Fox confirmed on Saturday.
In a statement to DailyMail.com on Saturday, a 21st Century Fox spokesman acknowledged it knew about Wiehl's complaints but said the network was assured by O'Reilly the matter had been dealt with before it gave him his new contract.
O'Reilly was fired in April during a holiday with his family in Rome. He is pictured above, meeting the Pope on the same day Rupert Murdoch announced his firing
At the time O'Reilly was negotiating the huge settlement, Fox was still reeling from the scandal surrounding former chairman Roger Ailes (left before his death in May). Megyn Kelly, its second-highest ranking host, had also just announced her departure for NBC
O'Reilly is still fighting his ex-wife Maureen McPhilmy (above together in 2002, before their split) over custody of their children and they were locked in a legal fight at the time of his settlement with Wiehl
Wiehl, a mother-of-two, is pictured with her ex-husband, Mickey Sherman., in 2008. They were married between 2006 and 2012, during which time she regularly appeared on Fox
'When the company renewed Bill O'Reilly's contract in February, it knew that a sexual harassment lawsuit had been threatened against him by Lis Wiehl, but was informed by Mr. O'Reilly that he had settled the matter personally, on financial terms that he and Ms. Wiehl had agreed were confidential and not disclosed to the company.'
It chose to renew his contract anyway and even added a provision to protect itself from liability if he was accused of any additional sexual crimes.
'His new contract, which was made at a time typical for renewals of multi-year talent contracts, added protections for the company specifically aimed at harassment, including that Mr. O'Reilly could be dismissed if the company was made aware of other allegations or if additional relevant information was obtained in a company investigation.
'The company subsequently acted based on the terms of this contract,' they said.
The earliest of O'Reilly's settlements dates back to 2002 and was given to Rachel Witlieb Bernstein, a junior producer. The amount is not known.
The second, in 2004, was for $9million 2004 and was awarded to Andrea Mackris, a producer on The O'Reilly Show.
Rebecca Gomez Diamond, a Fox Business host, received an undisclosed amount in 2011. In 2016, Laurie Dhue and Juliet Huddy both received undisclosed settlements.
Rachel Witlieb Bernstein (left) was given a settlement by O'Reilly in 2002. Andrea Mackris (right) received another relating to allegations of sexual harassment in 2004
Rebecca Diamond Gomez (left) received a settlement over allegations O'Reilly sexually harassed her in 2012 and in 2016, Laurie Dhue (right) received a settlement over the same claims
They were all revealed in April this year by The New York Times and prompted his ousting from the network.
Juliet Huddy was given an undisclosed figure in 2016
They were the second spate of sexual harassment allegations to rock the conservative media company.
Last year, other damning claims forced chairman Roger Ailes out of his role. He died in May this year.
O'Reilly insists that he has never 'mistreated' any of the women he has given money to and says the only reason he settled their claims financially was to protect his children from the public embarrassment of a court trial.
His lawyers told the Times on Saturday that he and Wiehl had been friends for 18 years.
He believes he has been the victim of a witch hunt that was triggered by the persecution of Ailes last year.
Ailes' ousting from the company in July 2016 set in motion an avalanche of change. It was prompted by a lawsuit filed by Gretchen Carlson and was followed by claims from several Fox News employees.
In January 2017, Megyn Kelly announced she was leaving the network.
Her departure was prompted in part by criticism she received from O'Reilly for voicing her condemnation of Ailes, who she said had tried to kiss her when she was a young reporter in 2006.
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