STATEMENT OF LISA BLOOM,

ATTORNEY FOR DR. WENDY WALSH

I am very proud to represent Dr. Wendy Walsh. She has chosen to speak out against
one of the most powerful men in American media. It is my lifes work to stand with
people like Wendy, who find the courage to walk through the fire to make this
world a better place for our daughters.

Fox News has a tired, tattered playbook: attack, attack, attack women who speak
out against their moneymakers. They must have worked hard with their spin
doctors, crisis managers and the giant law firm that represents them to figure out
something to say about Wendy, since shes widely loved and respected in the TV
industry for her research, brains and compassion, having appeared hundreds of
times on cable news and network shows.

I can just imagine the brainstorming sessions:

Lets say shes just out for money!

Wait, Wendy didnt sue, or ever ask for a dime.

Lets call her a liar!

Wait, we can get sued for defamation for that.

I know! Lets say the ratings went down on her segment.

Really? That doesnt sound right.

Its all weve got. Lets go with it.

What a ridiculous claim. Wendy was on a weekly OReilly segment with another
guest and OReilly himself, a segment elaborately produced by his team, on topics
he chose. He controlled everything about it. If the ratings were low thats on him.
You mean to tell me during the brief time she spoke, people ran and switched off
their sets? Not believable. And if it were true, why did he continue using her for six
months? Why would CNN, HLN, The Doctors, The View and many other shows
have invited Wendy back time and again?
Bill OReilly, you call out whiners as delicate snowflakes. But youre the one
whining now. You say youre a target, a victim, because youre wealthy and
famous. Oh please. Most celebrities have exactly zero public sexual harassment
complaints against them. I havent heard of one against Anderson Cooper at CNN.
No public complaints against Lawrence ODonnell at MSNBC either. None against
Sean Hannity at Fox News.

And yet: not zero, not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, but six sexual
harassment complaints about Bill OReilly, according to the New York Times.

Six.

That we know about. Spanning thirteen years.

All of this in the culture of Fox News, where CEO Roger Ailes sexually harassed
more than two dozen women employees, according to media sources. Fox News,
where several other executives have also been publicly accused of sexual
harassment. By my count, thats over thirty women.

That we know about.

Roger Ailes got a $40 million buyout. Bill OReillys reported $18 million dollar
annual contract was just renewed. Apparently the network thinks multimillion
dollar payouts to victims is just a routine cost of doing business.

And what of the women? Many of them reportedly lost their jobs after standing up
for their rights. Some were driven out of the television industry entirely.

Oh no. This is shocking and unacceptable. We are not living in the Stone Age, or
even the Mad Men era. Womens careers matter. Our work is just as important to us
as mens careers are to them. Many of us are breadwinners. Wendy, for example, is
a single mom.

Every woman in America has the legal right to a workplace free of sexual
harassment. Each of us has the right to complain about harassment without being
fired. We get to be treated with respect and keep our jobs. Thats how the law
works.
Apparently Fox News does not think the antidiscrimination laws apply to them.
They believe they can just pay woman after woman to go away and keep harassers
in place to victimize the next woman.

Oh no. Just no. We all know this is wrong. And the law does not tolerate a wrong
without a remedy.

We need an independent investigation into the culture of sexual harassment at Fox

News. As far as I know, this has not yet happened. It has been incorrectly reported
that the Paul Weiss law firm did an independent investigation last summer. No.
They are lawyers for Fox News, advocating for them, hired by them.

We do have federal, state and city agencies whose job it is to protect the rights of
women. The New York State Division of Human Rights has the power upon its
own motion to initiate investigations into discrimination or harassment. NY
Human Rights Law Section 295(6)(b).

In New York City, where Fox News is headquartered, the NYC Human Rights
Commission has the power to initiate its own investigations of discrimination
and sexual harassment. NYC HRL Sec. 8-105(4). This is especially true where
there may be a pattern and practice of discrimination or harassment. Thirty plus
women? Sounds like a pattern and practice to me.

Today Wendy and I call upon these agencies to initiate their own independent
investigations into the culture of sexual harassment that has been widely reported
to exist at Fox News, to issue findings, and to require the company to take all
necessary measures to protect the rights of working women.

No company in America has the right to normalize sexual harassment, and that
includes Fox News.

No company in America has the right to drive out women who complain, and that
includes Fox News.

No company in America has the right to use its riches to flout the law, and that
includes Fox News.

Because Wendys claims are more than one year old, she cannot bring a lawsuit,
nor does she want to anyway. But Wendy will cooperate with any investigation.
And so will I. I will happily devote my time and the resources of my law firm, The
Bloom Firm, to assist the agencies with their investigation.

To get them jump started, my law firm will shortly prepare for them a packet of
public information about sexual harassment at Fox News. Theres so women, it can
be hard to count them all. Dont worry. Ive been keeping track.

To other victims, I say: we stand with you. Get yourself a strong feminist attorney
and learn what your rights are.

To Mr. OReilly and Fox News: you have a reputation for vindictiveness. Youve
already gone on the attack against Wendy. Stop embarrassing yourselves. Knock it
off. Today. Because if you continue, she will have fresh claims of retaliation and
defamation against you, and I know where the courthouse is.

Were happy to answer a few questions.

April 3, 2017