Carlson hits O’Reilly on settlement

Former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson hit her former network colleague Bill O’Reilly on Thursday over a previous settlement he made to a female colleague who accused him of sexual misconduct.

O’Reilly, who was ousted from Fox News earlier this year in the wake of sexual harassment allegations, had taken to Twitter earlier on Thursday to tease an upcoming episode of his podcast focusing on “constant allegations of bad behavior by powerful men.”

In response, Carlson, who left Fox News last year, asked O’Reilly on Twitter whether he would use the episode to explain why he reportedly paid $32 million to settle unspecified sexual harassment allegations against him.

Will this finally be when u explain why u paid #32million ?? https://t.co/MPNo8MfW5b

— Gretchen Carlson (@GretchenCarlson) November 30, 2017

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After departing Fox News last year, Carlson accused former network chairman and CEO Roger Ailes of sexual harassment, prompting other women to come forward with allegations. Ailes was subsequently ousted from Fox News. 

O’Reilly’s ouster from the network came in April, after The New York Times reported that five women were paid a total of $13 million to settle harassment suits. That revelation prompted dozens of advertisers to back out of O’Reilly’s show. 

The Times reported in October that O’Reilly had previously agreed to pay $32 million to a longtime Fox News analyst in January. O’Reilly denied inappropriate conduct.

Powerful men in media, politics and other industries have faced an increasing number of allegations of sexual impropriety in recent weeks. NBC News host Matt Lauer was fired on Wednesday after allegations surfaced that he had engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior at the network.