Former Fox Host Bill O’Reilly Sued Again For Defamation

The New York Daily News reports:

Another Bill O’Reilly accuser has filed a defamation lawsuit against the former Fox News star. In papers filed in Manhattan Federal Court Thursday, former Fox News Channel anchor Laurie Dhue charges O’Reilly mounted a “smear campaign” after the New York Times reported last April that she’d gotten a $1 million settlement related to sexual harassment allegations against him and former Fox News chairman and CEO Roger Ailes.

According to the suit, the Times reported “a total of five women have received payouts from either Mr. O’Reilly or the company in exchange for agreeing to not pursue litigation or speak about their accusations against him.” The suit alleges, “As part of his desperate campaign to clear his name, O’Reilly published false statements about Dhue-as well as the other women-calling her a liar, swearing that her allegations were fabricated in an effort to obtain a settlement.”

That was today. This was yesterday:

Lawyers for Bill O’Reilly and Fox News on Wednesday argued for the dismissal of the defamation lawsuit brought against them by three women who reached harassment settlements involving Mr. O’Reilly, asserting that they had not disparaged the women because any comments they made were not directed at the women and did not refer to them.

Mr. O’Reilly shot back at two of the women, stating that they had violated the confidentiality provisions of their settlements and that he would bring claims against them “in the proper, arbitral forum.’’

The lawsuit concerns statements made by Mr. O’Reilly and 21st Century Fox, the parent company of Fox News, and Rupert Murdoch, the company’s executive chairman, in the aftermath of a New York Times investigation that exposed how the network stood by Mr. O’Reilly as he faced a series of harassment allegations.