Former Fox News behemoth Bill O’Reilly may or may not return to TV. He doesn’t totally think President Trump shit the bed on Charlottesville. He feels badly for NBC’s Megyn Kelly, but still thinks he professional surpasses her.
One thing he’s sort of certain about? He won’t ever dish details on what went down at Fox News before his April firing after two decades at the network, he told The Hollywood Reporter in a wide-ranging interview.
In the piece, O’Reilly insinuates that he has his 30-year pal Trump’s ear, which is kind of gross. “And I tell him all the time, ‘Look, you’re the president, you know, and you’re going to get it no matter what you say. You can’t win it.’ But is Trump going to listen to me? No, he’s not.”
O’Reilly throws shade at InfoWars‘ Alex Jones and says he has no desire to interview him. It’s hard to imagine Jones giving a lick about this. “Alex Jones? he said. “You know, with all due respect, I’m not going to learn anything from that.”
When the interviewer, Marisa Guthrie, digs in about what happened at Fox News and all the allegations and payouts relating to sexual harassment, he says, “Well, I’m not going to say anything bad about Fox News. I have 20 years, six months in there, and I think it would be untoward for me to say anything negative about Fox News. They’re still a very strong brand, and they still have great correspondents, and their presentation is very, very professional. But I’m a different agent. I do things differently, and that’s why we were very successful. ”
When asked if he spoke directly to Rupert, James or Lachlan Murdoch after the sexual harassment allegations cropped up, O’Reilly forcefully won’t talk about it.
“No. I’m never going to comment on any of that stuff. My lawyers are going to deal with that, and I am never going to say anything,” he replied.
“Did he talk to Roger Ailes during that time?” his questioner asked.
O’Reilly: “I’m not going to talk about it.”
But here’s what he will say. And, by the way, please don’t cry for him that he was vacationing in Rome when Fox News dropped the gauntlet.
“They made a decision,” he said. “It was purely a business decision. But the way it was done, I’m over in Rome [on vacation]. My [legal] team was caught by surprise because we had an amazing amount of exculpatory stuff that we had presented. And it just — it was sad. That’s the word, sad.”
Another point of contention on O’Reilly’s “never” list is how many subscribers he has at BillOReilly.com.
“So we’re never going to say,” he said. “But it’s hundreds of thousands.”
O’Reilly wasn’t shy about assessing his former colleague, NBC’s Megyn Kelly, who was occasionally his rival at Fox News. He said Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin‘s tricks wouldn’t have worked on him. The Superior One said he would’ve gotten “right in his face.”
“…He’s looking at her and he’s got this little sneer on his face going, ‘Look, lady, you can ask me anything, and I’m just going to deny it and I’m going to try to make you look stupid,’ he said, referencing Kelly’s first interview for her Sunday night magazine program. “And that’s what he did. And with me, that’s not going to work because I’d get right in his face. But again, it’s not Megyn’s fault. Megyn asked the right questions.”
O’Reilly surprisingly goes to bat for Kelly’s reputation, which has taken hits since moving to NBC.
“I feel bad for her because it’s the same old game,” he said. “…I mean, what has Megyn Kelly done wrong? I don’t get [the media criticism]. She worked her way up from being a reporter, and now she’s making good money, and she’s in a good position. So what has she done wrong? You don’t like her haircut? Is that it?”
Be careful when you click on this.
You’re about to see a ginormous close-up of the pinhead himself.