In October of 2004, the words “loofa” and “falafel” were mainstreamed into our sexual vocabulary. To the shock of some, and to the entertainment of millions, religious right wingnut Bill O'Reilly was accused of sexually harassing coworker Andrea Mackris with explicit phone conversations that were allegedly taped. Besides the use of loofas and falafels as sex objects, Bill O’Reilly had also revealed homoerotic desires to use vibrators on himself, fantasies of explicit Caribbean vacations, and a desire for Ms. Mackris to perform oral sex on him, but not finish. He also revealed some disturbing news about what Fox News was planning to do to Al Franken. To Bill O’Reilly’s enemies, this news was God sent.
The reason people were fascinated with this story is the same reason they are fascinated with Rush Limbaugh’s drug use, Matt Drudge’s allegedly gay affairs, and the penisification of underage boys by anti-gay activist and idolized Republican Mark Foley: we love exposing hypocrites! Bill O’Reilly has used his highly rated program, The O’Reilly Factor, to criticize sexuality in the media. His favorite targets have been rapper Ludacris, Janet Jackson, porn stars, and all the other “immoral” Hollywood stars. The only Hollywood star whom he constantly praises (or at least used to praise) is Mel Gibson, the director of the anti-Semitic Passion of the Christ. The fact that Mel Gibson was going to turn Bill O’Reilly’s soft-porn epic Those Who Trespass into a movie certainly helped.
The Bill O’Reilly/Andrea Mackris scandal not only begs for questions about it’s “sudden” disappearance, but reveals, once again, how hypocritical and morally corrupt the right wing religious fanatics in this country are. Bill O’Reilly’s audience not only aggressively defended him, but maintained their viewership over the years. Fellow right wing pundit Michelle Malkin, who freaks out at the mention of the words “gay” or “sex,” didn’t issue any condemnation of Bill O’Reilly’s immoral behavior. Michael Savage, who was fired from MSNBC for wishing AIDS and death on a homosexual caller, seemed rather silent about the situation. Rush Limbaugh, who ended up being exposed as an illegal drug user after condemning illegal drug users, defended O’Reilly. George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Ann Coulter, Dr. Laura Schlesinger, and other darlings of the right wing didn’t issue any condemnation either. On October 21, 2004, the fiercely heterosexual Matt Drudge tried very hard to smear Andrea Mackris. Even though Bill O’Reilly’s ratings are still high, his relevancy in the political world is arguably fading. He successfully served as the Joseph McCarthy of his time, as well as George W. Bush’s media protector. But even after he fades into history, the type of behavior he exhibited towards Andrea Mackris will continue unless both political parties condemn it.
On October 28, 2004, O'Reilly and Mackris reached an out of court settlement, and dropped all charges against each other. It was widely rumored that O’Reilly paid Mackris close to ten million dollars to “shut up” and destroy the tapes. The fact that the story disappeared from the media soon afterwards remains a mystery that people should question.
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