In his first broadcast since being ousted from Fox News, Bill O'Reilly said Monday that he is "sad" he isn't on TV anymore, and that he was “surprised” by the outcome of the sexual harassment scandal that led to his downfall.
O'Reilly made the comments during his new podcast, No Spin News, which he launched on his website Monday night.
"I am sad that I’m not on television any more," O'Reilly said. "I was very surprised how it all turned out. I can’t say a lot because there’s much stuff going on right now."
The comments were in reference to a scandal that erupted earlier this month when the New York Times reported that multiple women had accused the top-rated Fox News host of sexual harassment and that the network paid out $13 million to settle the complaints. Fox fired O'Reilly last week.
During his podcast Monday, O'Reilly said that he was "very confident the truth will come out."
"And when it does I don’t know if you’re going to be surprised, but I think you’re going to be shaken, as I am," he added. "There’s a lot of stuff involved here."
The nascent podcaster also promised Monday to turn his internet show into a "genuine news program" over time. He said the format will include discussing headlines for several minutes each day — much as he did on his TV show — and he will begin interviewing guests so that the show becomes "longer and longer and longer."
"That's the vision right now," he said.
O'Reilly also discussed President Trump's poll numbers, the media, the proposed wall on the US–Mexico border, and his recent vacation in Europe.
The new podcast and website launch as the former star grapples with reviving his public image. As the sexual harassment scandal picked up steam, dozens of advertisers began boycotting his show. Fox News' parent company eventually called in an outside law firm to investigate allegations.
Less than two weeks after the Times published its story, O'Reilly went on vacation from his show — and never came back to the network.
His new website will operate on a subscription basis. After this week, would-be listeners will have to pay $4.95 a month to access O'Reilly's podcast. It is unclear, though, how many of O'Reilly's die-hard fans would follow him from the television airwaves into the comparatively uncharted waters of podcasting.