Bill O'Reilly says he is 'mad at God' over sexual harassment allegations

'Yeah, I'm mad at him. I wish I had more protection,' says former Fox News host

O’Reilly has repeatedly denied the allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour and insisted he is a target for such accusations due to his wealth and fame (Reuters)

Bill O’Reilly has blamed God for the slew of sexual harassment allegations which he has faced and said he is “mad” at him

The Fox News anchor, who was ousted from the network in April after sexual harassment claims, has repeatedly argued the allegations are linked to a politically motivated media but his latest statement is arguably one of his most dramatic victimhood claims yet.

"You know, am I mad at God? Yeah, I'm mad at him. I wish I had more protection," O'Reilly said on the latest episode of his web series No Spin News on Monday evening.

"I wish this stuff didn't happen. I can't explain it to you. Yeah, I'm mad at him."

O’Reilly’s comments come after the New York Times reported a $32 million settlement he reached with a former Fox News colleague who accused him of sexual misconduct a month before Fox News extended his contract earlier this year.

O’Reilly, who developed a reputation as Fox’s ratings king in his two-decade career there, left the cable TV network after The Times revealed he had forked out $13 million to five women to settle sexual harassment allegations.

The former TV anchor has now accused the publication of being out to “hurt people” who have divergent opinions to them.

“I truly believe that these people at The New York Times are out to hurt people with whom they disagree. They don't want me in the marketplace. That's what this is all about”.

"If they could literally kill me, they would,” the 68-year-old said of his adversaries at one point.

O’Reilly also said he gets perspective from the difficulties of others such as Kate Steinle - a woman who was allegedly shot by an undocumented immigrant who has been the subject of a number of O'Reilly commentaries.

According to the Times report over the weekend, O’Reilly reached a previously undisclosed $32m settlement with ex-Fox News legal analyst Lis Wiehl in January 2017. It was at least the sixth agreement - and by far the largest - made by either the television host or the network's parent company, 21st Century Fox, to settle harassment allegations against him.

But despite that record, 21st Century Fox embarked on contract negotiations with Mr O’Reilly, giving him a four-year extension in February 2017 that paid $25m a year, according to the paper.

The highly profitably but also massively controversial TV host has repeatedly and vehemently denied the allegations of sexual harassment levied against him. On Monday he said the allegations were “crap”.

He told the Times: “It’s horrible what I went through, horrible what my family went through. The pain it brings to my children is indescribable. Indescribable.”

He argued it was politically and financially motivated and this could be proved with "shocking information".

After the story was released, O'Reilly's spokesman Mark Fabiani issued a statement saying the newspaper had "maliciously smeared" the author and former Fox anchor.

“The Times chose to rely on unsubstantiated allegations, anonymous sources, and incomplete, leaked, or stolen documents,” the statement said.