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Home / New Zealand

Rachel Smalley: Why do we protect men in power who sexually pursue women at work?

Newstalk ZB
5 Apr, 2017 09:11 PM4 mins to read

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Author and television host Bill O'Reilly has been marred by a series of sexual harassment allegations. Photo / AP

Author and television host Bill O'Reilly has been marred by a series of sexual harassment allegations. Photo / AP

Opinion

It's the most watched news channel in America - Fox News, but it's at the centre of a sex scandal again.

And it brings me back to the same question I ask every time? Why do we protect men in power - dinosaurs - who think it's acceptable to sexually pursue women in the workplace?

You may remember on this programme we covered the story of the demise of Roger Ailes - he was Fox's former CEO.

He was accused of offering women promotions in exchange for sexual favours.

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And the case centred on Gretchen Carlson, an anchor who resisted his advances and was later fired. She accused Roger Ailes of sexual harassment and in a matter of days, another six women had come forward. Soon there would be 20, including the network's biggest star, Megyn Kelly.

Carlson was eventually paid $20 million, but the man who harassed her, Roger Ailes left with a $40 million gold handshake.

Interestingly, Ailes went on to work in an advisory role to Donald Trump.

Well now, it's Bill O'Reilly. The network's biggest star. He hosts the O'Reilly Factor, one of America's best known and most watched news programmes. It's the number one cable news show. On average about four million people watch O'Reilly every night.

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In the New York Times, the report claims that settlements have been paid to five women in exchange for them not pursuing litigation or speaking about the accusations levelled at O'Reilly.

But the times does report a pattern to O'Reilly's behaviour and it's stretched across the years.

He creates a bond with some women in the newsroom, offering advice and to help them professionally.

And then he pursues a sexual relationship with them.

O'Reilly says that's rubbish. He says when you're in the arena, you are constantly at risk of being targeted. You're at risk of extortion. He maintains he is a family man.

But the accusations stretch back 13 years - when O'Reilly paid a woman $9 million amid accusations of sexual harassment. They're pretty hideous. He repeatedly attempted to have phone sex with her. He suggested she bought a vibrator. He boasted of teaching women how to masturbate. Dear God. He talked about his fantasies. He talked about what he did to himself. I'll just leave it there. But you get the idea.

Like I said, pretty hideous - but O'Reilly paid her $9 million of his own money, to go away.

Now, more accusations have been levelled at O'Reilly. Again, he has pursued sexual relationships with women and when they've rebuffed him, he's derailed their careers. He has phoned some of the women while masturbating. He's asked them to come to his hotel room, repeatedly.

And now, one of the settlement letters has been sent to the New York Times, and it's been revealed that some $13 million has been paid out over the years to settle complaints made against him.

The issue for Fox is, O'Reilly's show brings in around $180 million in ad venue a year, but 21 advertisers have walked away from his show in the past few hours. And they're big names. Mercedes Benz. Glaxosmithkline. Bayer. BMW. Mitsubishi. Investment firms have pulled out. Clothing companies too, and big retail brands.

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So what does Fox do? They lost their CEO about eight months ago. And now we know five women have been paid off. Those gagging orders were never going to hold. So will they walk him? They have to, don't they?

But then look at the sexist and misogynistic accusations levelled at Donald Trump? He talked about grabbing women by the pussy. And America still voted him in.

Hard to believe, isn't it? There are some who can still overlook a culture of sexual harassment as the norm.

Rachel Smalley hosts Early Edition on Newstalk ZB

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