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Bill O'Reilly Scraps Interviews
O'Reilly appeared with Regis Philbin to promote his children's book but used the interview to defend himself against a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by a co-worker.
Fox News Channel's star host Bill O'Reilly has canceled a series of television interviews to promote his new children's book days after a former producer accused him in a lawsuit of sexual harassment, his publisher said Monday.
The normally outspoken conservative commentator scrapped appearances that had been scheduled for Friday on ABC's "The View" and HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher", and for Monday on CBS' "The Early Show," Harper Entertainment spokesman Seale Ballenger said.
Harper Entertainment and its HarperCollins parent are owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. Ltd., as is Fox News.
O'Reilly's book, "The O'Reilly Factor for Kids," published on Sept. 28, ranked No. 6 on the New York Times bestsellers list with 225,000 copies in print, Ballenger said.
Promotion of the book got caught up in the shower of publicity over a lawsuit brought against O'Reilly last Wednesday by an associate producer, Andrea Mackris, who accused the commentator of pressuring her to engage in phone sex.
O'Reilly in turn has denied any wrongdoing and filed suit against Mackris and her lawyer, accusing them of trying to extort $60 million in "hush money" from him through bogus sexual harassment claims.
"Because of the intense media scrutiny Mr. O'Reilly is currently facing, he and HarperCollins have jointly decided to postpone the final media interviews planned to promote 'The O'Reilly Factor for Kids,"' the publisher said in a statement.
"We hope hope to resume the book promotion with Mr. O'Reilly at a later date and we wish him well during this difficult time," it said.
Source: AP
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