The Sleazebag Factor

...Walsh detailed her run-in with O’Reilly in 2013 before a packed room of news media and TV cameras. She said she didn’t sue and has not asked for money, adding that “it is terrifying to speak out about a man as powerful and vindictive as Bill O’Reilly.”

“Three weeks after I began the segment, I received an email from Mr. O’Reilly’s assistant asking me to join him for dinner in Los Angeles. I was excited as this confirmed for me that it was a business dinner and he was going to offer me a job.”

They met at the Hotel Bel-Air the night before the Oscars. “At dinner, he told me that I was a very beautiful woman,” she recalled. “He also told me that Roger Ailes is his good friend and that he promised to give me a paid contributor position on his show. He complimented me on my work and thanked me for the work I had done so far for free, assuring me that Roger Ailes would sign off on a paid contributor position if asked by him. I was delighted at the idea of becoming a paid contributor at the network.”

After dinner, she said that O’Reilly said, “Let’s get out of here,” assuming he meant they should move to the bar to continue their conversation about her career at Fox News. “As we walked past the host stand in the restaurant, an awkward thing happened,” she said. “I turned left toward the bar and he turned right, walking toward the bedrooms. When we were a few steps from each other, we both turned around looking for each other. He came to my side, and I immediately said, ‘I think the bar is this way,’ pointing down the pathway. To which he replied, ‘No, let’s go to my suite.’ And I politely said, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t do that.’ He seemed put-off and answered, ‘What? Do you think I’m going to attack you or something?’ To which I gently replied, ‘Bill, I’m sure you can understand since we are both parents raising teenaged girls that we should walk our talk to model good choices.’ He sighed and said, ‘Whatever you want,’ and we walked to the bar.”

At the bar, she said, “his demeanor utterly transformed from charming to hostile. He asked me how much I thought my glass of water would cost him. I told him I’d be happy to buy this round. With that, he looked at my purse, a black leather clutch by Balenciaga Paris and suddenly blurted out, ‘That’s the ugliest bag I’ve ever seen.’ Then he said, ‘I want you to forget all the business advice I gave you. Do what you want. You’re on your own.’ ”

Over the next several weeks, she said, “All of our small talk off air stopped abruptly. I emailed him to follow up, trying to stay friendly and upbeat, but got little in response. The last time I saw him was in late May of 2013. I was live on the set at Fox News in New York City. In the studio, Mr. O’Reilly stiffened up and stared down at his script, ignoring me, though we were only four feet from each other. Then he suddenly looked up at me from his script and hostilely barked, ‘When are you leaving?’ ” After that, she said, “I was essentially barred from the show and was not asked back again.”

“Mr. O’Reilly’s job offer disappeared the moment I refused to accompany him to his hotel suite,” she said. “His friendliness to me vanished the moment I rebuffed him…Apparently all of my professionalism and hard work meant nothing once I refused to join him in his hotel room.”

"The O'Reilly Factor," reportedly generated $446 million in ad revenue between 2014 and 2016. O'Reilly is also a best-selling author whose books have been adapted for television -- a one-man, multimedia juggernaut and a star asset for the business associates and sponsors in his orbit.

“The assumption is that he’ll exit in a non-embarrassing way,” one senior Fox News staffer told me.

"The O'Reilly Factor" has been canceled amid a cloud of harassment allegations against the conservative broadcaster.

Rupert Murdoch and his sons James and Lachlan, who run 21st Century Fox, made the announcement Wednesday afternoon.

"After a thorough and careful review of the allegations, the Company and Bill O'Reilly have agreed that Bill O'Reilly will not be returning to the Fox News Channel," Fox said.