Bill O’Reilly and Fox have yet another lawsuit to contend with.
This time, it’s former Fox News producer Rachel Witlieb Bernstein who is suing the former Fox News star and the network for defamation and breach of a non-disclosure agreement.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges Bernstein settled claims against O’Reilly and Fox News in 2002. The settlement agreement provided that the parties would not disparage one another and that, if asked, the parties would say only that “The matter has been resolved (or settled).”
The lawsuit claims that the New York Times story from April detailing the numerous harassment settlements by O’Reilly, revealed that the network entered a settlement agreement with Bernstein in 2002. The lawsuit also notes that Bernstein was not the source for the story, which eventually led to O’Reilly’s departure from the network. According to the filing, O’Reilly and Fox violated the settlement agreement by disparaging Bernstein in the press, portraying her as a liar and politically motivated extortionist.
Bernstein is represented by Nancy Erika Smith and Neil Mullin, who represented Gretchen Carlson in her 2016 lawsuit against former Fox News chief Roger Ailes. They claim Bernstein “has suffered and will continue to suffer harm to her reputation, severe emotional distress, physical sickness, and loss of income.”
Fox News has yet to respond to a request for comment.