Posted on 10/18/2004 1:37:23 AM PDT by kattracks
Edited on 10/18/2004 2:53:02 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
The woman accusing Fox News host Bill O'Reilly of sexual harassment wants her life and career back, she told the Daily News yesterday.Fox News officials ordered "The O'Reilly Factor" associate producer Andrea Mackris to stay out of the office as they moved to fire her.
Mackris said yesterday she is determined to stay in journalism even as her life has been upended.
"I love being a journalist. I never expected my life to take this acute left turn," she told The News yesterday.
Mackris, 33, has not set foot in Fox News since she sued the network's star commentator on Wednesday, alleging a string of "vile and degrading" sexual advances.
She said the scandal is an unwelcome detour that has disrupted her life and career.
"Fox told her not to come in," her lawyer David Ratner confirmed. "She hasn't been in since we started meeting with Fox."
Mackris did collect her regular paycheck on Thursday, sources said, but Fox has asked a judge to clear the way for her termination.
"We have asked the court to consider whether the allegations made public by Ms. Mackris are valid," said Fox spokeswoman Irena Briganti. "We have also asked the court to advise Fox News about the possible termination of Ms. Mackris' employment. Ms. Mackris is still employed by and on the payroll of Fox News."
In an explicit lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, Mackris claims that O'Reilly subjected her to phone sex against her wishes on three separate occasions in August and September.
She also contends O'Reilly previously told her to use a vibrator "to blow off steam," described his "amazing" endowment and recounted dalliances at a sex show in Thailand.
O'Reilly, 55, a married father of two, has teamed with Fox to file his own suit in Nassau County. He accuses Mackris and her lawyers of a politically motivated scheme to extort $60 million in "blood money."
He called Wednesday "the worst day of my life."
Mackris and her attorneys later updated their suit to charge that O'Reilly's Nassau complaint amounts to illegal retaliation.
"My logic in not going through the quote-unquote proper channels of Fox News' legal and Human Resources departments has been borne out in the retaliatory actions toward me since I came forward," Mackris said yesterday.
O'Reilly's wife, Maureen, meanwhile, kept mum yesterday as she pulled out of the family's Long Island driveway. "This is a private road," she said.
O'Reilly has hired private security to sit in front of his tony Plandome home. "He doesn't want anyone on his property," a silver-haired guard said.
Originally published on October 18, 2004
"I WANT MY LIFE BACK"
A lot of us feel that way after watching his show.
Seriously, I think he's innocent, too.
"Forced" phone sex sounds ridiculous..However, if you have a good job and your boss is hinting that your job is in jeopardy if you do not cooperate, you might reason that anything short of outright physical assault is manageable. I agree with the postings here that believe this is mostly about money, though I do think O'Riley did talk dirty to her, on the phone or otherwise because for months I have perceived his "exciteability" around attractive female hosts and guests. What a terrible shame. It is not at all unusual, though, that "narcississtic" types (aggressive because they think no one should question or disagree with them) who are nationally visible will step over the line regarding their own "entitlement" and will fall hard. We were fiercely devoted to O'Riley for a long time, because we thought he was bringing into the public conscience many issues which needed to become visible to the American people. However, in recent months, we have noticed a drastic change in the values we thought he held. Perhaps he decided to take a number of liberal stances because liberals generally do not place boundaries around sexual aggression. I hope these perceptions are wrong and all of us have to "eat crow."
Doesn't this remind you of that "Is that you again, Margaret?...Are you nekkid?...what is that guy's name, I love him.
I understood what you meant, and these...Freeper-wanna-bes...are simply used to the PC police defending them from their idiocy. Apologies are due you for their lack of comprehension of the English language and silly accusations.
Thank goodness the mod at least seems to understand your point as well.
Women like this destroy all chances for those with legitimate harassment gripes getting their issues resolved in a dignified way.
Even if this stuff is true (so what?...more dumb guy humor) all she had to do is ask for a recommendation to be transferred to another program.
She had one of the best, most exciting jobs one could imagine. She'd destroy everything around her because maybe someone said "vibrator"? I hope nobody hires her again.
I would assume pretty much whatever he says they are. (Which doesn't excuse a previous poster to this thread trying to use the asinine example of me calling somebody at 4 AM and "talking dirty to them" as some sort of analog to this case).
And in any case, all that the plaintiff had to do to mitigate any "damages" was to hang up.
..."I love being a journalist. I never expected my life to take this acute left turn,"
First, I'm no BOR fan. Second, she should be fired just for stupidity. What did she think would happen when she demands $60,000,000 for what she alleges happened? Does anyone think the crime, if there is one, fits this demand? And I doubt if her version of things is entirely true. There's more to this than we're hearing. As always in these cases we only hear all the accusations by the alleged victim while the defendant must shut-up to best protect himself in court. It's obvious to me she is/was trying to extort a large sum of money from BOR/Fox.
If she illegally taped him wo/ his permission, she's got a felony charge to answer to, and the tapes are inadmissable evidence.
It's obvious to me she is/was trying to extort a large sum of money from BOR/Fox.
Further, I don't think she ever thought this would all go public. I think she expected a big (and hushed up) out of court settlement. BOR called her bluff. She and her attorney didn't expect this. Thus her, "I never expected my life to take this acute left turn" statement.
pete anderson wrote:
If the tapes do exist as advertised it will at the very least show that O'Reilly was having an affair with this woman while he should have been spending time with his wife and two children.
I am waiting on other women to come forward if this is true. Otherwise, it is a non-story and an effort to get rich quick.
Bingo. While I don't agree with everything that O'Reilly has ever done, he shouldn't have to put up with what appears to be essentially blackmail. Good for him for taking this public.
I am shocked that O'Rielly would get sucked into this after the Clinton years! However, I think you get sucked into things even when you have a feeling you will get screwed. A few years ago a business partner of mine screwed me out of 250K; I did not check on him properly because he was a young man. I did sue him and got some of it back; but he did not really have the earning power on his own to be good for much of it : (
And what if the female party was getting a charge out of the phone call as well? This could have been just one part of their relationship.
I've seen nothing so far to show that she was not a willing participant. Matter of fact, what I have seen has led me to believe that it was a mutual relationship.
Time will tell.
She came backfrom CNN to trap him. Nonetheless, he is an ignorant knee jerk liberal and he deserves everything bad that comes to him.
How to spot O'Reilly at a nude brunch: Look for the guy carrying two cups of coffee and a dozen donuts.
Sorry you got hammered by a partner.
I wonder if this is a case of an older man feeling flattered by the attention from a younger woman and simply losing his mind over it and not thinking the thing through.
Happenes all the time.
This is true, but you would think that being a news dude and watching the nation get Lewinskied, that he would be alert to such threats. You can betcha that if a person has money that there is someone out there that will relieve you of it if they find a chance - legal or not.
Oh, geez. Then why did you go get this democrat shyster for a lawyer who put the following in your filing?
11. At all times mentioned herein, Defendant Bill O'Reilly was and is the host and "star" of "The O'Reilly Factor". The "O'Reilly Factor" is broadcast on cable television ....(no viewable)... Westwood One and Bill O'Reilly utilize this forum to preach the principles of the so-called "compasionate conservatism" espoused by George W. Bush and the Republican Party. The Defendants also use this forum to preach their belief in family values and to emoan the moral decline of politicians and others in positions of power.
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