Ronald Reagan's Son Tweets Stunningly Sexist Defense Of O'Reilly

Emma Gray
Updated

Michael Reagan, son of President Ronald Reagan and his first wife Jane Wyman, has some very strong feelings about sexual harassment ― though he seemingly has no understanding of what sexual harassment is.

Late Thursday night, Reagan posted two tweets, both alluding to Fox News’ termination of Bill O’Reilly after a slew of allegations of workplace sexual harassment were made public.

The New York Times reported earlier this month that Fox and O’Reilly had settled five suits ― which included allegations of “verbal abuse, lewd comments, unwanted advances and phone calls in which it sounded as if Mr. O’Reilly was masturbating” ― and paid out a collective $13 million to the accusers. On Tuesday, another woman came forward, alleging that O’Reilly leered at her and called her “hot chocolate.”

Reagan, a 72-year-old white man, decided that he was an appropriate messenger to let women of color know that being called “hot choclare” by a male superior at the office isn’t sexist, racist harassment ― it’s merely a compliment.

Five minutes later, Reagan decided he had more to say ― this time, about sexual harassment writ large.

“If women are going to wear low cut dresses that show cleavage don’t be harassed when we men look,” he tweeted.

You hear that, women? If men leer at you, it’s most certainly just a compliment and/or the uncontrollable nature of male sexuality, which you have likely set off with your outfit!

We would like to direct Reagan to the U.S. government’s definition of sexual harassment. According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, sexual harassment is defined as “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature.”

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When it comes to sexual harassment in the workplace many picture the blatant sexism of the "Mad Men" era, however, workplace harassment (sadly) comes in all forms. From an unwelcome sexual comment to inappropriate physical touching, sexual harassment should be reported every time, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/27/workplace-sexual-harassment-poll_n_3823671.html" target="_blank">yet it's not always so easy for victims to speak up</a>. With allegations of sexual assault spanning various workplaces -- including (but not limited to)<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/17/terry-richardson-sexual-harassment-anna-del-gaizo_n_5501175.html" target="_blank"> the fashion industry</a> and<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/03/tinder-whitney-wolfe-sexual-harassment-lawsuit_n_5555660.html?utm_hp_ref=technology&ir=Technology" target="_blank"> tech startups </a>-- it's no surprise that workplace harassment is still common, even when it's not making front page news. In 2011, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission <a href="http://www.aauw.org/what-we-do/legal-resources/know-your-rights-at-work/workplace-sexual-harassment/" target="_blank">received 11,364 complaints of sexual harassment</a>, 84 percent of which were filed by women and 16 percent by men. <a href="http://www.aauw.org/what-we-do/legal-resources/know-your-rights-at-work/workplace-sexual-harassment/" target="_blank">The American Association of University Women also reported that a telephone poll of 782 U.S. workers revealed </a>that of the 38 percent of workers who said they had been sexually harassed, less than half reported their harassment. <strong>Inspired by our friends over at <a href="http://jezebel.com/women-post-awful-tales-of-workplace-harassment-on-secre-1601929462" target="_blank">Jezebel</a>, we rounded up 11 testimonies found on the anonymous message-sharing app <a href="http://whisper.sh/stories/" target="_blank">Whisper</a> that speak to the bravery required to report their harassers, but also the relief they feel once they do.</strong>

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.