A woman who settled a previous harassment lawsuit against former Fox News star Bill O’Reilly is suing him again for defamation.
Rachel Witlieb Bernstein is a former Fox producer who argues that O’Reilly has violated a settlement agreement with her that called on both sides not to disparage each other. She said in her lawsuit that O’Reilly and his previous employers at Fox news have made public comments about her settlement, which was not related to sexual harassment.
“According to the filing, O’Reilly and Fox disparaged Ms. Bernstein in the press, falsely portraying her as a politically motivated liar and an extortionist,” said a statement from her lawyers.
Reached Monday by the Washington Examiner, a spokesman for O’Reilly provided a statement dismissing the lawsuit as baseless.
“Bill O’Reilly has never mentioned the plaintiff’s name publicly in any context,” the statement read. “And as the original New York Times story makes clear, this was absolutely not a case of sexual harassment. So, today’s lawsuit has absolutely no merit, and Mr. O’Reilly will respond aggressively in court.”
A New York Times story in April revealed the millions of dollars worth of claims against O’Reilly that he and Fox quietly settled over several years.
A spokesperson for Fox at the time told the paper that “no current or former Fox News employee ever took advantage of the [parent company] 21st Century Fox hotline to raise a concern about Bill O’Reilly, even anonymously,” a claim that Bernstein denies.
O’Reilly has also repeatedly said that the women who accused him of inappropriate behavior were financially and politically motivated. He has denied all of the claims.
Bernstein accused O’Reilly in 2002 of screaming at her in front of colleagues in the newsroom. She is seeking compensation for damage to her reputation, “emotional harm and stress” and fees associated with the lawsuit, including her lawyers, according to the lawsuit.
