“Full Frontal” host Samantha Bee gave Bill O’Reilly the red pen treatment Wednesday on Twitter, vigorously carving up the statement he released following his ouster from Fox News over a scandal involving multiple allegations of sexual harassment.
O’Reilly issued the statement shortly after Fox confirmed it had ended its relationship with him on Wednesday morning. Calling the situation “disheartening,” O’Reilly barely acknowledged the severe accusations against him, dismissing them as “unfounded claims.”
That didn’t sit right with Bee, who set out to “fix” O’Reilly’s statement by carving it up and “correcting” it, English teacher-style.
Where the host called “The O’Reilly Factor” “”one of the most successful news programs in history,” Bee called it the “loudest,” while his boast that audiences were “consistently informed” was changed to “consistently lied to.”
Oh, also she changed “tremendously disheartening that we part ways due to completely unfounded claims” to “tremendously disheartening being a sexual predator.” Hey now Samantha, no need to pull your punches.
Here are Bee’s revisions:
Fixed. pic.twitter.com/pKUHKzJ3Vz
— Samantha Bee (@realsambee) April 19, 2017
O’Reilly’s ouster from Fox News began in January, after the New York Times reported that Fox and O’Reilly had secretly settled a sexual harassment lawsuit. This was followed on April 1, when the Times revealed that the network had paid out $13 million to five different women to settle sexual harassment lawsuits against O’Reilly.
In the uproar that followed, advertisers fled “The O’Reilly Factor” in droves, morale inside Fox news reportedly cratered, and other women came forward with even more disturbing accusations against O’Reilly. Amid rumors thatFox’s leadership was bitterly divided on whether to keep him, O’Reilly aired his last show on April 11, after which he took an unannounced vacation that ended up becoming permanent.