Stephen Colbert Gets Back in Character to Say Farewell to Bill O’Reilly

“All he ever did was have your back. And if you were a woman, have a go at the front too.”


Stephen Colbert revived his conservative pundit persona on Wednesday to bid a proper farewell to Bill O’Reilly, just hours after Fox News announced it was severing ties with its top-rated host. The firing followed weeks of controversy after the New York Times revealed O’Reilly and Fox News had paid nearly $13 million to settle sexual harassment allegations with multiple women during his tenure at Fox.

“You didn’t deserve this great man,” Colbert, in character, said. “All he ever did was have your back. And if you were a woman, you know, have a go at the front too.”

As the segment closed, the Late Show host offered some comfort to O’Reilly viewers, reminding them that in the case they’ll miss watching “sexual harassers who are on TV all the time, we still have Donald Trump.”

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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