Bill O'Reilly says he has no interest in discussing allegations by Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly that former CEO Roger Ailes sexually harassed her, arguing that the accusations make the network "look bad."
"I want to be very candid here. I'm not interested in this," O'Reilly told "CBS This Morning" Tuesday.
He was responding to a question concerning Kelly's new book, "Settle for More."
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In her book, Kelly claims Ailes made "inappropriate sexually charged comments."
"There was a pattern to his behavior," she wrote. "I would be called into Roger's office, he would shut the door, and over the next hour or two, he would engage in a kind of cat-and-mouse game with me – veering between obviously inappropriate sexually charged comments (e.g., about the 'very sexy bras' I must have and how he'd like to see me in them) and legitimate professional advice."
Kelly claims Ailes "crossed a new line" during a conversation in January 2006.
"He crossed a new line – trying to grab me repeatedly and kiss me on the lips. ... His office was large and it took me a beat to get to the door, which was closed. As I walked away from him, he followed me and asked an ominous question, 'When is your contract up?'"
Kelly also claims Ailes made "offers of professional advancement in exchange for sexual favors."
"I kept a record of Roger's behavior, and have since shared the facts with those who investigated the case against him," she wrote. "I see no point in making all of the details public, but suffice it to say he made sexual comments to me, offers of professional advancement in exchange for sexual favors, and, eventually, physical attempts to be with me – every single one of which I rejected."
On Monday, Ailes told the Washington Post he "categorically" denies Kelly’s version of the events.
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As WND reported, Ailes resigned as chairman and chief executive of the Fox News Channel in July after former anchor Gretchen Carlson made allegations of sexual harassment against him. Fox settled with Carlson for $20 million on behalf of Ailes. In a separate lawsuit in August, on-air personality Andrea Tantaros named Ailes, O'Reilly and on-air contributors as having allegedly harassed her, according to the Daily Beast.
When asked about claims made in Kelly's book, O'Reilly said he hasn't read it.
"I'm not interested in basically litigating something that is finished that makes my network look bad, OK?" O'Reilly said. "I'm not interested in making my network look bad at all. That doesn't interest me one bit."
CBS' Norah O'Donnell asked, "Is that what she's doing?"
"I don't know," O'Reilly said, noting again that he has no interest in making Fox "look bad."
O'Reilly grew visibly irritated and then said he's frustrated by attacks on the network.
"It’s open season, let's whack the Fox News Channel," he said. "I've had enough of it. It’s a good place to work, all right? We do good work, honest work there. So I'm not going to buy into let's use the Fox News Channel as a piñata. I don't think it is right."
In an interview on "Good Morning America," Kelly was asked about her prior statements that she cares for Ailes.
She previously said, "He's been nothing but good to me, and he's been very loyal. And he's had my back."
But Kelly told "Good Morning America" Tuesday: "Both things can be true. I mean, a woman can be harassed and then go on to have a good working relationship with the man harassing her. That is what happened in my case."
In her book, Kelly also accuses Trump of threatening her after she aired a report on the divorce between Trump and his ex-wife, Ivana. She claims she also received death threats from Trump supporters.
As WND reported on Oct. 25, Kelly called Trump a "sexual predator" in an interview with former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a statement that unleashed an epic smackdown in the annals of political television.
Gingrich accused Kelly of being "fascinated with sex," daring her to say the words "Bill Clinton, sexual predator" in the same sentence.
When Kelly used the term “sexual predator” to describe accusations against Trump, Gingrich pointed his finger at the anchor and said: “I am sick and tired of people like you using that language. That is inflammatory, that is not true.”
“When you use the words, you took a position, and I think it is very unfair of you to do that, Megyn,” Gingrich added. “I think that is exactly the bias people are upset by.”