Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly, the nation's top-rated cable news host and an insistent advocate for personal responsibility and self-control, was accused of sexual harassment in a lawsuit filed Wednesday by a producer on his show who says O'Reilly repeatedly pressured her to engage in phone sex and frightened her with lewd "monologues."
The suit, filed in New York by Andrea Mackris, a 33-year-old associate producer on "The O'Reilly Factor," quotes O'Reilly as speaking to her in highly explicit terms about vibrators, oral sex, masturbation and a fantasy involving a Caribbean hotel room shower.
It also quotes O'Reilly as threatening "any woman" who complained about his advances, and as suggesting that Fox News chief Roger Ailes would "go after" enemies of the channel.
"Look at Al Franken -- one day he's going to get a knock on his door and life as he's known it will change forever," the suit quotes O'Reilly as saying.
Franken, a liberal commentator, has been engaged for months in a public feud with O'Reilly. Franken did not respond to calls seeking comment.
The suit names O'Reilly and several other defendants, including Fox's parent, News Corp., and Westwood One Inc., the syndicator of O'Reilly's radio show.
Before the suit was made public, O'Reilly and Fox News filed their own claim in New York Supreme Court against Mackris and her attorney, Benedict Morelli, accusing them of trying to extort $60 million from him.
"Enough is enough," O'Reilly said in a statement. "I will not give in to extortion."
In their court papers, O'Reilly and Fox News said Mackris' allegations "may ... be motivated by Morelli's political connections to the Democratic Party." Morelli has given to the campaigns of Democratic candidates including Sen. John F. Kerry and Sen. John Edwards, the suit says. "The extortion scheme is timed to coincide with [the] upcoming presidential election, to cause maximum disruption and damage to plaintiffs, while at the same time benefiting Fox's major competitor CNN," the papers say.
The scandal comes at an awkward time for Fox News. The channel has logged record ratings for its coverage of the White House race, routinely beating CNN more than 2 to 1.
O'Reilly, the married father of two, is the host of the network's most watched regular program and has become its most recognizable personality through his combative style and populist opinions. Last month he published "The O'Reilly Factor for Kids," a bestseller in which "he lays bare the unvarnished truths about sex, money, smoking, drugs, alcohol and friends," according to the publisher. It was ranked No. 40 in Amazon.com sales Wednesday.
