Samantha Bee proved she’s the true queen bee of wreckage when she “fixed” Bill O’Reilly’s Fox News exit statement.
“The O’Reilly Factor” host was ousted from the conservative news channel on Wednesday amid allegations that he sexually harassed several women. He had been with the network for more than two decades, and his prime-time show was Fox News’ most-watched program, averaging 4 million viewers, according to Nielsen.
In a statement after his removal from Fox News, O’Reilly said:
“Over the past 20 years at Fox News, I have been extremely proud to launch and lead one of the most successful news programs in history, which has consistently informed and entertained millions of Americans and significantly contributed to building Fox into the dominant news network in television.
“It is tremendously disheartening that we part ways due to completely unfounded claims. But that is the unfortunate reality many of us in the public eye must live with today. I will always look back on my time at Fox with great pride in the unprecedented success we achieved and with my deepest gratitude to all my dedicated viewers. I wish only the best for Fox News Channel.”
But Bee, host of TBS’ critically acclaimed satirical news program “Full Frontal,” thought O’Reilly’s statement needed an editor’s touch and thus took out her virtual red pen.
Fixed. pic.twitter.com/pKUHKzJ3Vz
— Full Frontal (@FullFrontalSamB) April 19, 2017
O’Reilly, who has been off the air on vacation since early last week, reportedly will receive a payout of up to $25 million from Fox News, a source said Thursday.
It’s not the network’s first big payout to an employee accused of sexual harassment. Former network head Roger Ailes nabbed a $40 million severance when he resigned in July over accusations involving employees Gretchen Carlson, Megyn Kelly and others.
Starting Monday, O’Reilly’s time slot will be filled by Tucker Carlson, who took over the prime-time hour vacated by Kelly when she left for NBC earlier this year.
Past comments Carlson made about Democrats making up “the concept of sexual harassment” in 2006 resurfaced this week.
