Former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly apologized Monday evening to his one-time colleague Eric Bolling for evoking the death of Bolling’s son while slamming reports of the sexual harassment allegations O’Reilly faced at the network.
“Apologies to Eric Bolling and prayers for him and his family. The message I tried to send was that allegations harm kids. Nothing more,” O’Reilly tweeted to his 2.32 million followers.
The apology comes on the same day O’Reilly brought up Bolling during an interview with The New York Times after the paper reported the former “O’Reilly Factor” host had settled with legal analyst Lis Wiehl for $32 million after she accused him of sexual harassment.
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“All of a sudden all this stuff happens and the pain it brings to my children is indescribable. Indescribable,” O’Reilly said to the newspaper. “I would give up my life to protect my children, but I find myself not being able to protect them because of things that are being said about me.”
O’Reilly added that the paper should consider the ramifications of their reporting and cited Bolling’s son’s death in September as an example.
“Eric Bolling’s son is dead, he’s dead because of allegations made in my opinion — and I know this to be true against Mr. Bolling,” O’Reilly said.
Both O’Reilly and Bolling were ousted from Fox this year amid sexual harassment allegations. O’Reilly was fired in April, and Bolling last month.
“I believe it is beyond inappropriate for anyone to bring in the tragic death of my son Eric Chase Bolling,” Bolling said in a statement Monday.
“Just as Bill O’Reilly had wanted to shield his children from the allegations against him, I hope he will honor my request and avoid any future mentions of my son. My parting from Fox News was in no way connected to the tragic news of my son’s passing,” he said.
Eric Chase Bolling was found dead at his Boulder, Colo., apartment one day after his father was let go from Fox. The 19-year-old was a student at the University of Colorado.