Bill O'Reilly's first public comments after Fox News exit: 'The truth will come out'

An unapologetic Bill O’Reilly marked his return to the public sphere on Monday in his first comments since he and Fox News parted ways amid allegations of sexual assault.

The former host of The O’Reilly Factor addressed the controversy in his podcast, titled No Spin News, by maintaining his innocence and vowing more details would soon come to light.

“I am sad that I’m not on television anymore,” O’Reilly said, adding he was “surprised” by the end of his 21-year run at Fox News.

“I can’t say a lot, because there’s so much stuff going on right now,” he added.

“But I can tell you that I’m very confident the truth will come out, and when it does, I don’t know if you’re going to be surprised, but I think you’re going to be shaken, as I am.”

O’Reilly had not spoken out since he parted ways with the conservative network last Wednesday. He was replaced by Tucker Carlson, a younger anchor at Fox who opened the top of his first broadcast on Monday by saluting his predecessor.

“I watched Bill O’Reilly for years,” Carlson said. “What O’Reilly did was not easy. He set a high bar and I’m going to do my best to meet it.”

O’Reilly’s exit from Fox News followed revelations in a New York Times report earlier this month that he and Fox News had paid out roughly $13m in settlements to five women to prevent them from pursuing lawsuits or disclosing sexual assault accusations against O’Reilly. The allegations, which dated back 15 years, included unwanted advances, lewd remarks and other complaints over O’Reilly’s behavior.

Dozens of advertisers subsequently withdrew their content from O’Reilly’s show, which has long ranked among Fox News’ marquee programs. The network announced last Wednesday it was severing ties with O’Reilly, who received a payout of as much as $25m.

O’Reilly said little about the episode in his podcast, which he said would soon be developed into a short news program of its own.

“I can’t say anymore, because I just don’t want to influence the flow of the information,” he said.

“I don’t want the media to take what I say and misconstrue it.”