Bill O’Reilly Complains About Sexual Harassment Scandal: ‘It’s Horrible What I Went Through’

Bill O’Reilly is opening up about the pain of multiple allegations of sexual harassment he has received over the years — specifically his pain.

“It’s horrible what I went through, horrible what my family went through,” O’Reilly told The New York Times reporters Emily Steel and Michael S. Schmidt.

The interview followed a Times news report over the weekend of a previously undisclosed settlement between O’Reilly and Fox News analyst Lis Wiehl totaling $32 million.

Also Read: Bill O'Reilly Paid $32 Million to Settle Sexual Harassment Claim (Update)

The January settlement is the largest known payout to any of O’Reilly’s multiple accusers and was reached just one month before O’Reilly was signed to a new multi-year contract at Fox News’ parent 21st Century Fox.

O’Reilly has, however, never been convicted of any crime and has consistently maintained his innocence, saying that his accusers are motivated by money.

“It’s politically and financially motivated,” he told the Times in a statement in response to the Wiehl’s settlement. “I’m not going to sit here in a courtroom for a year and a half and let my kids get beaten up every single day of their lives by a tabloid press that would sit there, and you know it.”

Related stories from TheWrap:

Fox News' Howard Kurtz Calls Bill O'Reilly's $32 Million Settlement 'Significant Setback for Fox'

Bill O'Reilly Says He Was 'Smeared' by New York Times Report of Sexual Harassment Settlement

Bill O'Reilly's Post-Sexual Harassment Settlement Contract Included Clause About 'Other Allegations'

Bill O'Reilly Paid $32 Million to Settle Sexual Harassment Claim (Update)