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Which alleged victims reached settlements with Bill O'Reilly and in what years?
Executive summary
Reporting identifies at least six women who reached settlements with Bill O’Reilly across a span of years; major coverage highlights a cluster of five settlements totaling about $13 million reported in April 2017 and a separate, much larger $32 million settlement disclosed in October 2017 (bringing reporting to roughly $45 million total) [1] [2] [3]. Available sources list the accusers by name and give a few settlement years and amounts, but not every settlement year or amount is publicly detailed in the provided reporting [4] [3].
1. Who the reporting says settled with O’Reilly — named accusers
Contemporary reporting and summaries identify six women who reached settlements with O’Reilly: Andrea Mackris, Rebecca Gomez Diamond, Laurie Dhue, Juliet Huddy, Rachel Witlieb Bernstein (often shortened to Rachel Bernstein), and Lis Wiehl [4] [1] [3]. News outlets repeatedly list that these women either worked for O’Reilly or appeared as guests on his program and that their claims ranged from verbal abuse to sexual harassment [1] [4].
2. The 2017 New York Times sweep: five settlements ≈ $13 million
The New York Times’ April 2017 reporting — summarized by Reuters and other outlets — said Fox News and O’Reilly had paid about $13 million to settle claims with five women dating back to 2002, and that those five settlements were what precipitated the advertiser exodus and O’Reilly’s firing climate that spring [1]. Reuters’ recap names Andrea Mackris as the recipient of a $9 million payout tied to a 2004 lawsuit; the other four settlements in that $13 million total were not disaggregated in the Reuters summary [1].
3. The later, separately reported $32 million settlement (Lis Wiehl)
In October 2017 reporting later picked up widely, The New York Times and follow-ups disclosed a previously undisclosed $32 million settlement paid by O’Reilly in January 2017 to former Fox legal analyst Lis Wiehl; 21st Century Fox acknowledged knowing about that settlement when it renewed O’Reilly’s contract the following month [2] [5]. Legal analysts called the $32 million figure “jaw-dropping” and “highly unusual,” and outlets reported that this payment on top of the earlier $13 million brought the total reported payouts to about $45 million [4] [3] [6].
4. Known settlement amounts and years from available reporting
- Andrea Mackris — settled an October 2004 out-of-court agreement; reporting attributes a $9 million payment related to Mackris’ claims [1] [4].
- Lis Wiehl — reported $32 million settlement in January 2017, disclosed publicly in October 2017 [2] [4].
- The April 2017 package — five settlements totaling about $13 million (which includes Mackris’ $9 million) were reported by The New York Times and summarized by Reuters in April 2017 [1].
For Rebecca Gomez Diamond, Laurie Dhue, Juliet Huddy, and Rachel Witlieb Bernstein, the exact years and amounts are referenced as part of the April 2017 accounts or earlier reporting, but the provided sources do not list an exhaustive year-by-year breakdown for each of those four women [4] [1] [3].
5. Legal context and contested details in the sources
Sources note disputes over both facts and legal terms: O’Reilly has denied wrongdoing and called some reporting a “smear,” and some settlements included confidentiality terms and, according to reporting, clauses that critics say required accusers to relinquish evidence or refrain from truthful public statements [7] [3] [8]. Reporting also flagged potential conflicts of interest in the settlement negotiations — for example, allegations that an attorney who represented an accuser later switched sides — although details vary by outlet and are part of ongoing contested accounts [8].
6. What the available sources do not fully specify
The provided reporting does not give a complete, itemized ledger containing every settlement date and dollar amount for each named accuser beyond the Mackris $9 million and the Wiehl $32 million entries; the April 2017 reporting aggregates five settlements to about $13 million but does not break out every figure in every source excerpt provided here [1] [3]. Available sources do not mention a definitive public accounting of every settlement year and sum for the other named women that would allow a full, year-by-year table from these excerpts alone [4] [3].
7. How to interpret conflicting claims and next reporting steps
When sources disagree on intent, motive or the legal mechanics, treat the named settlement amounts and years that multiple outlets corroborate (Mackris’ 2004 $9 million; Wiehl’s 2017 $32 million; the April 2017 cluster ≈ $13 million) as the strongest points of fact in current reporting [1] [2] [4]. For a complete, legally authoritative list (including signed settlement dates and amounts for each accuser), consult court filings or the full New York Times investigation and the settlement documents unsealed in litigation — materials referenced by these reports but not reproduced in the excerpts provided [3] [8].
If you want, I can extract a concise table-style summary limited to the facts and citations above, or search the supplied articles for any additional dates/amounts you’d like clarified.