Disgraced former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly received congratulations from his critics ― but not for the reasons he might have hoped.
On Monday, O’Reilly attempted to slam calls for reparations for the descendants of slaves in a series of tweets and a blog post on his website. As it turned out, his explanation unintentionally had more than a ring of truth to it:
Slavery reparations is a far-left favorite because it does a number of things.
— Bill O'Reilly (@BillOReilly) June 24, 2019
It reinforces the radical belief that the United States was founded by racist white men who installed a system whereby white guys would run everything and blacks, women and others would be exploited.
It also suggests that personal responsibility does not count when the legacy of slavery dropped a curtain of oppression on the black race and there is no recovering from that. The radical left says our society remains unjust to this day, forget personal responsibility.
— Bill O'Reilly (@BillOReilly) June 24, 2019
O’Reilly left Fox News in shame in 2017 after reports he paid millions to settle multiple allegations of sexual harassment led to an advertiser boycott. O’Reilly paid $32 million to settle with one of his accusers, and at least $45 million in total, The New York Times reported.
Or as some of his critics on Twitter were quick to remind him, he paid a form of reparations. Perhaps that’s why he’s not a fan of paying money to settle allegations of past wrongdoing. Others were simply stunned by his reference to “racist white men” creating a country “whereby white guys would run everything”:
Ok but the United States was founded by racist white men who installed a system whereby white guys would run everything and blacks, women and others would be exploited so...
— The Sassiest Semite (@LittleMissLizz) June 24, 2019
Why is Bill O’Reilly tweeting facts like they’re conspiracy theories? pic.twitter.com/OqEfqz7mJz
— Christian Thayer (@cthayer2) June 25, 2019
That time you literallly agree with Bill O’Reilly. pic.twitter.com/RfTdOQ9TCk
— Morty “Alabama is canceled” Boborty 🍿👀🍸 (@mortyboborty) June 25, 2019
In which Bill O'Reilly comes *so close* to getting it. pic.twitter.com/nOaZ6B0tUR
— Xof (terms and conditions apply) (@Xof) June 25, 2019
You are a history illiterate racist who minimized the atrocities of slavery by claiming it was all OK because slaves were "well-fed" and received "decent lodging.” Let's leave the history lessons to the actual historians and not ex-Fox News perverts.
— Adam Best (@adamcbest) June 24, 2019
Why on earth would anyone think America was racist and ran on a power structure that was meant to only benefit white men??? pic.twitter.com/L5r3SPw6XD
— Benjamin Dixon (@BenjaminPDixon) June 24, 2019
Here, @BillOReilly, I improved this garbage tweet of yours with one small fix. See? Much better. pic.twitter.com/VPW1a0VsgO
— Josh Ezrol (@joshezrol) June 24, 2019
Bill O’Reilly seriously just summed up all of American history yet he thinks he’s being sarcastic. https://t.co/bGj6TWc0PY
— Drew Worth (@DrewWorth) June 24, 2019
I really don't understand the point of this Tweet because even a delusional prick like Bill O'Reilly knows this is literally how the USA was founded, right? https://t.co/twuYMVD2Fp
— mandy paris (@themandyparis) June 24, 2019
When the founders referred to "all men" being equal, they meant white men. Only white men could vote. Women & former slaves received the right to vote later.
— ~ Beata, Music Enthusiast ~ (@ms_muzicwoman) June 24, 2019
Bill O'Reilly perfectly explained the racist history of the U.S. but didn't even realize it https://t.co/eE7pAIY2bo
Fixed it for you. pic.twitter.com/apqMxTeSAS
— Jason Lewis (@jasonalewis) June 24, 2019
Exhibit 1- the white dudes 👇 pic.twitter.com/eorvJAbb62
— Cletus (@C13tu5) June 24, 2019
Looks like you had to pay some reparations yourself bud. https://t.co/CkC2HhLmbH
— MaryLynn (@mlc_823) June 24, 2019
32 million bucks says that you shouldn’t be talking about rich white men exploiting women.
— Sleeping Giants (@slpng_giants) June 24, 2019
When not podcasting out of his basement Bill enjoys gaslighting
— Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) June 24, 2019
This country was built by whites guys who brought over slavery and fought tooth and nail to keep anyone who wasn’t a white man from voting and having equal rights. That’s not a talking point, it’s our history.
— Naveed Jamali (@NaveedAJamali) June 24, 2019
I seldom, if ever, retweet Bill O'Reilly, but this is an astonishing tweet. The U.S. was built on slavery, oppression of women, and genocide of Native Americans. https://t.co/g7XeL6JUhy
— Jeffrey Guterman (@JeffreyGuterman) June 24, 2019
The reason why suspected anti-Black racist Bill O'Reilly doesn’t feel like Black people should get reparations, is because he doesn’t think that slavery was that bad for Black people. Do you all remember when Bill said Black slaves were “well fed” and had “decent lodging”.. pic.twitter.com/xHoyyWWG81
— Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) June 24, 2019
Bill O’Reilly’s co-authored like twenty books and this is the first time he’s ever gotten American history right. pic.twitter.com/ggoYQ0fKKs
— Simon Balto (not Balto the dog) (@SimonBalto) June 24, 2019
Is this a parody account? Because the real Bill O'Reilly has literally never described US history this accurately. https://t.co/W8LChbYJT4
— John Iadarola (@johniadarola) June 24, 2019
that's precisely what happened you dipshit, hope this helps
— jordan (@JordanUhl) June 24, 2019
Bill O’Reilly. Tweeting about reparations. REPARATIONS. A form of restitution you pay to someone you’ve harmed. Like, for example, to settle sexual harassment lawsuits. And he did this. OF HIS OWN FREE WILL. Today. This is a free website
— 🌈 Brosephine Wires (@JoParkerBear) June 24, 2019
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