According to the attorney for Wendy Walsh, one of multiple women who’ve reportedly leveled sexual assault allegations at Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, 21st Century Fox will conduct an investigation into the longtime anchor’s behavior.
Lisa Bloom, who represents Walsh, broke the news during an appearance on CNN’s Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter on Sunday afternoon, saying that her client’s call to the the anonymous hotline for Fox News’s parent company has spurred an internal investigation.
In the aftermath of a major report by the New York Times last week, detailing multiple sexual harassment allegations against O’Reilly, the host put out an official statement denying wrongdoing. He also noted that “no one has ever filed a complaint about me with the Human Resources Department, even on the anonymous hotline.”
That’s no longer true, however, as Bloom and Walsh proved by filming their call to the hotline.
It was that call, according to Bloom, which seems to have set in motion the internal investigation.
https://youtu.be/q9bC_-RnivU?t=2m27s
Said Bloom: “On Friday, we received a return phone call from a couple of attorneys who represent Fox News, and they said that they are indeed going to do an investigation based on Wendy’s complaint. I told them we really appreciate that, and let’s get going as soon as possible. And so, I am told that they are taking it seriously and they are going to do the investigation that’s legally required of them.”
Walsh has been very public about her allegations against O’Reilly, with an eye toward improving working conditions for other women. That’s what she told CNN’s Don Lemon last week, flatly stating that she’s “not after money.” Walsh alleges that after a number of on-air appearances on O’Reilly’s show in 2013, the 67-year-old host first promised her a job as a recurring contributor over a business dinner and then angrily withdrew the offer after she refused to have sex with him.
Walsh’s allegations echo what’s publicly known of other accusations against O’Reilly throughout the years, although not all of his accusers are at liberty to speak about their experiences due to the terms of their settlements. In addition to Walsh and former Fox News host Andrea Tantaros, both of whom have made public accusations, O’Reilly has reportedly shelled out a combined $13 million in settlements to five women, all of whom worked at Fox News: former producers Rachel Witlieb Bernstein and Andrea Mackris, and on-air talent Rebecca Gomez Diamond, Laurie Dhue, and Juliet Huddy.
Since the Times‘s report, at least 60 national advertisers have pulled their money from O’Reilly’s show.
Update 5:35pm CT: A 21st Century Fox representative has responded to the Daily Dot, offering the following statement: “21st Century Fox investigates all complaints and we have asked the law firm Paul Weiss to continue assisting the company in these serious matters.”