At the top of the month, a slew of news outlets gleefully reported that Bill O'Reilly and Fox News had been slapped with a defamation lawsuit. The neckless former TV stain and the persistent provider of preposterous propaganda were accused by Rachel Witlieb Bernstein, who previously reached a settlement over harassment allegations, of portraying her as a "liar" and "extortionist." Wednesday, two more women joined Bernstein's suit.
Former Fox News producer Andrea Mackris and former Fox Business Network host Rebecca Gomez Diamond have joined the suit, the New York Timesreported. Mackris sued O'Reilly for sexual harassment in 2004, while Diamond settled with O'Reilly for an undisclosed amount in 2011 after also alleging harassment. O'Reilly had "recorded conversations" with both women. In the suit, all three women—Mackris, Diamond, and Bernstein—said they were not the sources cited in the extensive Timesreport on O'Reilly's multiple harassment settlements published in April.
"[Mackris and Diamond] are tired of being smeared with lies by a bully who thinks that his victims are afraid to answer to them," lawyer Nancy Erika Smith said Wednesday. Bernstein's original suit slammed "liar" O'Reilly and Fox News for "forcing her out of her job" at the network.
O’Reilly's legal team issued a statement following the latest Times report, claiming the new filing has "absolutely no merit" and will be met with O'Reilly "fully and aggressively" litigating.
