By Rekha Basu
Des Moines Register
OK, Mr. President, America’s women have heard you, loud and clear.
If we had any lingering doubts on how to interpret those crotch-grabbing, can’t wait to kiss ‘em because a-star-can-do-anything boasts that surfaced on tape during your campaign, you’ve dispelled them. Now you’re defending Bill O’Reilly, even after Fox News paid $13 million to settle five sexual harassment lawsuits against him. A sixth woman also alleges the TV anchor sexually harassed her but hasn’t sued. She’s speaking out publicly.
It doesn’t look good. Dozens of companies that advertise on “The O’Reilly Factor” have pulled their ads since a New York Times story ran. A spokeswoman for Mercedes-Benz was quoted saying, “Given the importance of women in every aspect of our business, we don’t feel this is a good environment in which to advertise our products right now.”
But you, Mr. President, said, “I don’t think he did anything wrong.” Which can only mean you think the six women lied: Must’ve made it up so they could go after his money. Maybe they’re in cahoots with the failed liberal media and its fake-news agenda to bring down a proud conservative man.
Most of us recognize the attitude: Shift the blame, turn the tables. I was provoked. She dressed sexy. She wanted it. I couldn’t help myself. In your words about beautiful women: “It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait.”
“And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.”
“Just like other prominent and controversial people, I’m vulnerable to lawsuits from individuals who want me to pay them to avoid negative publicity,” O’Reilly said in a statement. But you say O’Reilly is “a good person.”
He went easy on you after that Access Hollywood tape fiasco. He stressed that it was a private conversation. He even called out a newspaper reporter for pointing out that you had criticized Bill Clinton’s interactions with women, as if that was unfair. But wasn’t it relevant? These were your words on tape: “I moved on her like a b——, but I couldn’t get there. And she was married.”
We know whose back you have and it’s not our half of the population’s. But hey, thanks for proclaiming April as National Sexual Assault Prevention Month. It helps draw attention to the widespread phenomenon of sex abuses in our cities, villages, schools, work places and homes.
In Treynor, Iowa, a middle school coach accused of abusing girls over more than a dozen years is finally out of that job, but still has the backing of the superintendent who protected him. At the University of Iowa, sex offenses jumped from 16 to 49 in a year, including 19 rapes and 28 incidents of forcible fondling. And those are just the ones that were reported.
You can see why they’d think they can get away with it. Fox News last year reportedly gave its co-founder, Roger Ailes, a golden handshake worth $40 million after settling with several women who had accused him of sexual harassment. Bill O’Reilly had Ailes’ back, just as you have O’Reilly’s now. After anchor Megyn Kelly wrote of Ailes sexually harassing her, O’Reilly said on the air, “If somebody is paying you a wage, you owe that person or company allegiance. You don’t like what’s happening in the workplace, go to human resources or leave.”
One could also argue that if someone is getting paid $18 million a year, he could at least keep his hands to himself. But Fox News last week signed O’Reilly to a new 3-year contract paying that much. And one could feed a few villages for a few years with the money they paid out to settle for O’Reilly. But this club prefers to take care of its own.
You weren’t quite as supportive of Bill Cosby after the actor was accused of sexual harassment in 2014. You said he “should say something because he is being accused of terrible things.” Is he not a member of your club or was that because you were running for office? Or was your biggest criticism that he didn’t have a better public relations spin? “I think he’s getting very bad advice from a PR standpoint,” you said of Cosby’s refusal to speak.
O’Reilly said: “The worst part of my job is being a target for those who would harm me and my employer, the Fox News Channel. Those of us in the arena are constantly at risk, as are our families and children.”
But with your support, he’s in fine standing. It’s those bloodsucking women he is accused of harming who have to watch out. Not that it’s any great surprise which team you picked. We’ve seen your Cabinet appointments. We’ve heard your degradations. We remember:
“And you could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her … wherever.”
“ … as long as you’ve got a young and beautiful piece of ass.”
“I’ve said if Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her.”
We’ve heard you, Mr. President. So we women will just have to look out for ourselves, and each other, a little bit harder.
Rekha Basu is a columnist for the Des Moines Register
