• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

New

Watch Fortune Daily, our new video show that brings you inside the Fortune newsroom and the boardroom

Watch Fortune Daily, our new video show that brings you inside the Fortune newsroom and the boardroom

Watch Fortune Daily, our new video show that brings you inside the Fortune newsroom and the boardroom

Watch Fortune Daily, our new video show that brings you inside the Fortune newsroom and the boardroom

Watch Fortune Daily, our new video show that brings you inside the Fortune newsroom and the boardroom

Watch Fortune Daily, our new video show that brings you inside the Fortune newsroom and the boardroom

Watch Fortune Daily, our new video show that brings you inside the Fortune newsroom and the boardroom

Watch Fortune Daily, our new video show that brings you inside the Fortune newsroom and the boardroom

Watch Fortune Daily, our new video show that brings you inside the Fortune newsroom and the boardroom

Watch Fortune Daily, our new video show that brings you inside the Fortune newsroom and the boardroom

MPWMost Powerful Women

Fox News Reportedly Settled Sexual Harassment Allegations Against Bill O’Reilly

By
Madeline Farber
Madeline Farber
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Madeline Farber
Madeline Farber
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 10, 2017, 1:51 PM ET
The Hollywood Reporter's 2016 35 Most Powerful People In Media
Photo by Ilya S. Savenok — Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

This story has been updated to reflect response from Jeanne M. Christensen, Juliet Huddy’s lawyer, and Fox News.

Just weeks after former Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes’s July 2016 resignation amid a sexual harassment scandal, 21st Century Fox, the parent company of Fox News, reportedly settled sexual harassment allegations against TV personality Bill O’Reilly, new documents show.

The company secretly struck an agreement with O’Reilly, who is the host of the network’s The O’Reilly Factor, after Fox’s Juliet Huddy accused him of pursuing a sexual relationship with her in 2011. Although Huddy rejected his advances, O’Reilly reportedly attempted “to derail her career,” according to a draft of a letter from her lawyers to Fox News that was obtained by the New York Times.

Sign up: Click here to subscribe to the Broadsheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter on the world’s most powerful women.

The Times reports that the letter includes allegations that O’Reilly repeatedly called Huddy, and although those calls were often about work, they were sometimes “highly inappropriate and sexual,” the letter says, according to the Times.

O’Reilly also reportedly invited Huddy to his home on Long Island, where he tried to kiss her, and later took her to dinner and a Broadway show, where he “moved close to Huddy in a way that made her feel uncomfortable,” the Times reports. During the performance, O’Reilly allegedly tried to hold her hand, but Huddy pulled it away. Before leaving, he dropped a key to the room at a Midtown Manhattan hotel he was staying at into her lap, telling her to meet him there after the play was over.

When Huddy appeared at O’Reilly’s hotel door to return the key, he was reportedly only wearing boxer shorts, according to the letter obtained by the Times.

After that encounter, the document states that Huddy was “very embarrassed, handed O’Reilly his key, and quickly left,” according to the Times, and that “his obsession with her only escalated” in the months following the show.

But in exchange for her silence and agreement not to sue, Huddy was allegedly paid in a sum “in the high six figures,” the Times reports. The agreement was between Huddy and 21st Century Fox (FOX), and both the company and O’Reilly’s lawyer said her allegations were false, according to the Times.

Consequences for breaking the supposed confidentiality agreement are steep: Either side could face $500,000 per infringement, according to the letter.

The Times reports that representatives for Fox News and O’Reilly dismissed the allegations. In a prepared statement to Fortune, a spokesperson for Fox News said, “Juliet Huddy’s letter of intent to sue contained substantial falsehoods which were vehemently denied by Bill O’Reilly.”

Jeanne M. Christensen, a lawyer for Huddy at Wigdor L.L.P., declined to comment when contacted by Fortune.

About the Author
By Madeline Farber
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in MPW

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

Latest in MPW

bezos
EnvironmentBillionaires
Leo DiCaprio teams with Jeff and Lauren Sanchez Bezos on $200 million plan to save 100 endangered species
By The Associated PressAugust 5, 2026
1 hour ago
Fidji Simo had to leave OpenAI. But she’s still building a business that could find cures to chronic diseases that affect women like her
NewslettersMPW Daily
Fidji Simo had to leave OpenAI. But she’s still building a business that could find cures to chronic diseases that affect women like her
By Emma HinchliffeAugust 4, 2026
21 hours ago
Most billionaires are stuck in ‘slow philanthropy.’ MacKenzie Scott gave away $26 billion and won’t stop until ‘the safe is empty’
SuccessMacKenzie Scott
Most billionaires are stuck in ‘slow philanthropy.’ MacKenzie Scott gave away $26 billion and won’t stop until ‘the safe is empty’
By Sydney LakeAugust 2, 2026
3 days ago
A person walks alone in a public plaza
North Americapublic policy
Bars, bowling alleys, and movie theaters cost too much to run and visit. Americans have run out of places to hang out and we’re paying with our health
By Catherina GioinoAugust 2, 2026
3 days ago
n
North AmericaTaxes
Gavin Newsom has been earning up to $2 million per year since 2022, records show
By Sophie Austin and The Associated PressAugust 1, 2026
4 days ago
israel
North AmericaIsrael
Most Jewish Americans under 45 get the ick from Israel, polling shows
By Giovanna Dell'Orto and The Associated PressJuly 31, 2026
5 days ago

Most Popular

Bars, bowling alleys, and movie theaters cost too much to run and visit. Americans have run out of places to hang out and we're paying with our health
North America
Bars, bowling alleys, and movie theaters cost too much to run and visit. Americans have run out of places to hang out and we're paying with our health
By Catherina GioinoAugust 2, 2026
3 days ago
How Zohran Mamdani's pied-à-terre tax exposed an epidemic of 'ghost cars' instead
Personal Finance
How Zohran Mamdani's pied-à-terre tax exposed an epidemic of 'ghost cars' instead
By Catherina GioinoAugust 4, 2026
1 day ago
Forget Gen Z: People in their 70s and 80s are some of the earliest Americans to welcome physical AI into their homes and daily routines
AI
Forget Gen Z: People in their 70s and 80s are some of the earliest Americans to welcome physical AI into their homes and daily routines
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezAugust 3, 2026
2 days ago
Scott Bessent is using moves from his hedge fund days to prop up Japan's yen—and America's $40 trillion national debt
Economy
Scott Bessent is using moves from his hedge fund days to prop up Japan's yen—and America's $40 trillion national debt
By Mia OsmonbekovAugust 4, 2026
20 hours ago
‘This is insider trading by definition’: Trump sells $100,000 monthly subscription service to Wall Street to further monetize the presidency
Crypto
‘This is insider trading by definition’: Trump sells $100,000 monthly subscription service to Wall Street to further monetize the presidency
By Joshua HongAugust 4, 2026
22 hours ago
Current price of oil as of August 4, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of August 4, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerAugust 4, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.