Views expressed in opinion columns are the author’s own.
Powerful male executive makes unwanted sexual advances on his female employee — unfortunately, this is not rare. However, it is infuriating when those who take advantage of their authority are not held accountable for their gross misconduct. This kind of cover-up has been happening at Fox for years; the first scandal that came to light last summer was of former chairman (and CEO) Roger Ailes, and now there are allegations against anchor Bill O’Reilly.
Five women were given settlements to not press sexual harassment charges against O’Reilly. According to a New York Times investigation, the payments have totaled to about $13 million. Meanwhile, Fox has been aware of complaints against O’Reilly since 2002. This misconduct allegedly includes a pattern of offering women professional help and then threatening to ruin their careers if they rejected his sexual advances. Other disturbing allegations include O’Reilly telling a female coworker to buy a vibrator.
Fox News declined to answer The Times’ questions about whether O’Reilly had ever been disciplined. However, serious accusations of sexual assault should lead to consequences. Parent company 21st Century Fox must take action against Fox News for covering up these sexual harassment cases. The allegations against O’Reilly are not the first to cloud the network, and unless it changes its attitude toward sexual harassment, they will not be the last. Fox News has an obligation to provide a safe and comfortable atmosphere for all its employees.
Unfortunately, when faced with the choice of condemning inappropriate behavior and protecting one of the network’s biggest profit-makers, Fox apparently chose to protect the network’s golden goose. O’Reilly anchors the number one cable news show, making him invaluable to the network. The women faced a choice of either taking a payoff or standing up against a rich, influential man with the support of a powerful company behind him. Given the circumstances they were in, it’s hard to blame these five women for accepting the payouts; it was their word against O’Reilly’s, and pursuing litigation against him would certainly hinder their own careers. However, whether the victims accepted a payout does not diminish the gravity of the situation. Wrong is wrong, and these allegations are serious, no matter how much hush money O’Reilly and Fox might have thrown at the women.
The tragedy of this situation is not just about the five women who were ignored when they said they were harassed. It is about how many more times this must happen for companies learn moral responsibility and hold executives or high-profile individuals responsible for their actions. If Fox News takes a strong stance against O’Reilly’s behavior, the company will be setting a precedent for how corporations should deal with sexual harassment complaints in the future.
Asha Kodan is a freshman biology major. She can be reached at ashakodan@ymail.com.
