Bill O’Reilly Allegedly Hated Megyn Kelly [Rumor]

Bill O’Reilly was definitely behind Megyn Kelly’s rise to superstardom. Kelly made several appearances on his show, and viewers were so impressed that Kelly eventually got her own show. Megyn Kelly never took over O’Reilly in the overall ratings, but she did beat him — at times — in the key demographic group (25 to 54-year-olds).

Bill O’Reilly must have been seething at this report from CNN Money in January of 2016.

“Bill O’Reilly’s ratings record streak among the coveted group of cable viewers between the ages of 25 and 54 has just been broken, not by a rival network, but by his Fox News colleague Megyn Kelly.”

The article adds that O’Reilly had been No. 1 on that demo every quarterly period since 2015. It also assumes that being beaten might create some tensions, and they were probably right. Gabriel Sherman from New York Magazine talks about Megyn Kelly’s departure from Fox News.

“Her relationships with Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity in particular had completely broken down, one Fox host told me. ‘Bill hated her,’ the host said. As Kelly’s contract negotiations dragged on during her much-publicized book tour, things also grew strained with Rupert Murdoch, two sources said.”

According to The Week, Bill O’Reilly recently implied that Megyn Kelly was making Fox News look bad. While promoting his children’s books on CBS, O’Reilly said he was not interested in making his network look bad and said it’s possible that Kelly is dong that with her new book. He did pay Megyn Kelly a compliment by referring to her as a “smart woman.”

Then, without mentioning Megyn Kelly’s name specifically, he did a segment about loyalty on The O’Reilly Factor.

“This morning James Patterson and I were on CBS this morning, discussing [his book] Give Peace a Chance. The conversation shifted to some problems with the Fox News channel,” O’Reilly said, adding that he believes if somebody is paying you a wage, you owe that company or person allegiance.

“If you don’t like what’s happening in the workplace, go to human resources, or leave. I’ve done that. And then take the action you need to take afterward if you feel aggrieved,” Bill continued.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Megyn Kelly responded to O’Reilly’s criticism. After a clip was played of O’Reilly hinting that she made Fox News look bad, Kelly said that it was Roger Ailes, accused of sexually harassing many woman at Fox, who made the company look bad.

“I am very proud of the fact that I discussed this with Lachlan and Rupert Murdoch before I wrote this chapter in my book. And we were all on the same page that this was an important chapter to include and I am proud of them that they feel as I do, which is sunlight is the best disinfectant,” the former Fox News superstar is quoted as saying.

However, the commenters after the article weren’t impressed.

“The worst part of Trump’s presidency is that it made this annoying twit famous,” said one commenter.

“Pot calling kettle noir. SHE made the network look bad with her disrespect of Gingrich on her show. And her lowest common denominator tabloid hoo-ha is a load of phooey,” stated another.

Let’s hope that Megyn Kelly finds a happy home at NBC, where she will host a daily talk show and a Sunday news program. Kelly is taking a huge career risk, but it’s one that could pay off personally and professionally for her.

[Featured Image by Ilya S. Savenok and Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]