Fox News mulling exit plan for Bill O'Reilly: report

The Rupert Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal is reporting that Fox News will soon decide whether to drop Bill O’Reilly in light of a news report that revealed how millions of dollars was paid to women who alleged sexual harassment.

WSJ said a decision could come in the next few days over at Fox News, which is controlled by the Murdoch-owned 21st Century Fox.

O’Reilly has faced a tidal wave of opposition after the New York Times reported on April 1 that he and his network’s parent company paid a total of $13 million in hush money to several women over the years who were pursuing sexual harassment claims against him. Scores of advertisers have pulled their sponsorship from O’Reilly’s top-rated show as a result.

In the meantime, O’Reilly’s attorney on Tuesday defended his client by saying he’s been “subjected to a brutal campaign of character assassination that is unprecedented in post-McCarthyist America.” In a statement, Marc Kasowitz also went on to say that “this law firm has uncovered evidence that the smear campaign is being orchestrated by far-left organizations bent on destroying O’Reilly for political and financial reasons. That evidence will be put forth shortly and it is irrefutable.”

O’Reilly wrapped his show on April 11 with the announcement that he’s going on vacation with his family, where he remains this week. The WSJ reports that the “early start” to O’Reilly’s vacation wasn’t part of the original plan. He was supposed to return to his show on April 24.