History will not be kind to Bill O’Reilly, said Rep. Maxine Waters, who recently found herself on the receiving end of the now former Fox News anchor’s jabs.
“You know, Bill O’Reilly is not going to be recorded favorably in history,” she told CNN’s Anderson Cooper Wednesday. “Unfortunately, here was a man who made tremendous sums of money, had a huge show and really, there’s something wrong with him psychologically.”
O’Reilly’s 21-year career at Fox News came to an end Wednesday when “The O’Reilly Factor” was canceled amid a cloud of harassment allegations against the conservative broadcaster.
Fox released a statement saying the decision was made “after a thorough and careful review of the allegations.”
But the newsman, who will be paid tens of millions on his way out, released his own statement dismissing the claims.
“It is tremendously disheartening that we part ways due to completely unfounded claims,” he said.
O’Reilly grabbed headlines last month after mocking Waters’ hair, suggesting she was wearing a “James Brown wig.” He later apologized for the remarks, which were widely denounced as both racist and sexist.
Waters, a California Democrat, said Wednesday that O’Reilly only has himself to blame for his downfall.
“It is unconscionable that he would allow himself to end up like this. It’s all his fault,” she said on “Anderson Cooper 360.” “And so I hope he seeks some help.”
Waters alleges that O’Reilly’s behavior was endemic of a culture of sexism at Fox News displayed by men in leadership, including Roger Ailes, who resigned as chairman and CEO of Fox News last summer after a former anchor filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against him.
“This was a way of life for them — powerful men with a lot of money who would proposition women, take advantage of them,” she said. “They thought that was normal and the way life should be.”
But Waters, who spoke at the Women’s March on Washington in January, said women are increasingly feeling empowered to advocate for respect in the workplace.
“It has only been in recent years that women have felt strong enough to come forward and talk about what has happened to them,” she said. “Life is changing for women. Women are feeling stronger, coming forward, standing up for themselves and I know that it went on for a long time. But thank God it stopped now with Bill O’Reilly at Fox.”