Rep. Maxine Waters: Bill O'Reilly Belongs in Prison, He and President Trump Are 'Two of a Kind'

Stephanie Petit
Updated
Maxine Waters: Trump and Bill O'Reilly Belong in Prison

California congresswoman Maxine Waters said Fox New anchor Bill O’Reilly should be arrested over the allegations against him for sexual harassment and slammed President Donald Trump for defending the host as “a good person.”

During an interview on MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes, the Democrat criticized O’Reilly’s network as a “sexual harassment enterprise.”

“Bill O’Reilly needs to go to jail,” she said.

As for Trump, Waters condemned his previous sexist statements.

“It’s coming out of the mouth of someone who has said some terrible things about women,” Waters said. “Don’t forget he talked about grabbing women in the private parts and because he was important he could get away with it.”

“They are two of a kind,” she added. “I’m not surprised.”

O’Reilly recently came under fire for a comment he made on the air about Waters’ hair, which he said looked like a “James Brown wig.” He later offered an apology.

O’Reilly, 67, is under increasing fire after The New York Times reported that five women were paid a collective $13 million for agreeing not to file lawsuits or speak publicly about allegations that he harassed them. The revelations were the latest headache for Fox News, coming just months after the cable network’s CEO and chairman Roger Ailes stepped down amid similar claims.

Since the Times report over the weekend, one more woman has come forward with sexual harassment allegations against Ailes, and at least 21 advertisers have pulled ads from O’Reilly’s top-rated cable news show, The O’Reilly Factor.

Trump, 70, defended the anchor to The New York Times on Wednesday, stating that O’Reilly “shouldn’t have settled.”

“I don’t think Bill did anything wrong,” the president said. “I think he’s a person I know well - he is a good person.”

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Many on social media were quick to point out that Trump has no credibility on the question of O’Reilly’s behavior as Trump himself has been accused of sexual misconduct by at least 12 women. Among his accusers is former PEOPLE writer Natasha Stoynoff, who alleged last year that Trump attacked her at Mar-a-Lago in 2005, while she was covering his first wedding anniversary with wife Melania.

The president has repeatedly denied the allegations against him.

This article was originally published on PEOPLE.com