Current top-rated primetime Fox News host Sean Hannity interviewed the former top-rated primetime Fox News host Bill O’Reilly on his radio show and urged the latter return to his home network, more than two-and-a-half years after O’Reilly was forced out due to the revelation of massive payouts to settle sexual harassment lawsuits.
Hannity’s comments on his Tuesday radio interview were first picked up by the liberal media watchdog group Media Matters.
O’Reilly’s firing was a seminal moment in the #MeToo movement and was triggered by Pulitzer Prize-winning reporting by the New York Times, which reported at least six sexual harassment settlement agreements between Fox and accusers of O’Reilly, including one for a whopping $32 million in January 2017. Even more surprising, the Times found that Fox News was aware of the sexual harassment claims against O’Reilly when it granted him a new, four-year $25-million-a-year extension one month later. O’Reilly has consistently denied the harassment allegations.
Under the helm of former CEO Roger Ailes, Fox News faced multiple charges and lawsuits alleging it was a hostile workplace for women. Ailes himself was forced out in 2016 when numerous women at the network, including high-profile stars like Gretchen Carlson, came forward to accuse Ailes of harassment and retaliation.
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Hannity, however, did not seem concerned in the least about dredging up all this history and the signal he sent by calling on O’Reilly to return. Instead, he focused on O’Reilly’s interview with President Donald Trump and commiserated with the former Fox News star about all the “punishment” that Trump, who has been accused of sexual harassment or assault by more than 20 different women, must absorb.
“The other thing I did in the interview was I made it a little personal,” O’Reilly explained. I said you know, you — you’re taking more attack and vitriol than any other president with the exception of Abraham Lincoln.”
“I have never seen a human being able to absorb more punishment than Donald Trump,” O’Reilly added.
“So true, it’s unbelievable,” Hannity agreed.
“You and I, we can identify because we’ve been attacked for more than 20 years, each of us has,” O’Reilly said.
“Twenty four to be exact,” Hannity corrected. “By the way, I keep offering you, go back on Fox, and…”
“Yeah and why do I want to do that?” O’Reilly cut in to say. “So I can have security guards go with me everywhere, like I used to?”
“No, so that you take the number one slot,” Hannity replied, seemingly offering O’Reilly his old 8:00pm primetime slot, currently occupied by Tucker Carlson. “I can tell you it’s easier being number two because we’ll end the — we’ll end the year again number one in all of cable, and with that comes all the crap associated with it.”
“You bet” O’Reilly said, “but your listeners should understand there is a price to pay for being a traditional conservative American in this country.”
Hannity has teased O’Reilly on returning to Fox News before — as recently as this summer.
Listen to the audio above, via The Sean Hannity Show.

Sean Hannity on impeachment: One of the most ‘dangerous political stunts in American history’
Hannity: Deep state has been plotting revenge on Trump since he was elected
House Democrats impeach Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Sean Hannity ripped House Democrats for their vote to impeach President Trump Wednesday, calling their act one of the most “dangerous political stunts in American history.”
“Democrats, of course, have been hell bent on ripping this country apart for three straight years. There [have been] three long years of psychotic rage [and] hate against the president coupled with their inability to accept the outcome of ‘we the people,'” Hannity said on his television show. “The 2016 election has now resulted in one of the most, if not the most, pathetic, divisive, disgusting, repulsive and frankly dangerous political stunts in American history.”
GABBARD STUNS BY VOTING ‘PRESENT’ ON IMPEACHMENT, SLAMS PARTISAN SHAM
The House voted to impeach President Trump on charges of “abuse of power” and “obstruction of Congress” related to his dealings with Ukraine after hours of heated debate Wednesday, making Trump the third American president ever to be impeached.
Hannity called Democrats “sore losers” and accused them of carrying out “a revolting charade based on nothing…
‘And what they’ve been doing, what they’ve been up to for three long years has been hurting this country,” Hannity said, “It’s hurting our country tonight. Democrats, they seem, they could care less this hour.”
The host accused Democrats of abusing their power.
“They got to look in the mirror because the [Adam] Schiff show in Congress that we’ve been witnessing all day, there is real abuse of power,” Hannity said.
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Hannity said the impeachment push was only helping Trump and that Americans know what they are really witnessing.
“Americans know a political sham and a witch hunt when they see it for three straight years,” Hannity said.
Fox News’ Gregg Re contributed to this report.