Juliet Huddy Settlement: NDA Breach and O’Reilly Pattern

Juliet Huddy’s settlement with Fox News was a high six-figure payment from 21st Century Fox, finalized in September 2016, that resolved her sexual harassment claims against host Bill O’Reilly and network co-president Jack Abernethy before any lawsuit was filed.¹ The deal came with a strict non-disclosure agreement. Huddy later broke it to speak with the writer of the film Bombshell, a decision she said cost her $500,000 and left her financially ruined.²

How the Settlement Came Together

Huddy’s attorneys sent a notice of intent to sue to Fox News in August 2016, several weeks after the network ousted chairman Roger Ailes amid his own harassment scandal.³⁴⁵ The amount was reported consistently as being in the “high six figures,” paid in exchange for her agreement not to file a lawsuit.¹

In the same month the settlement was finalized, 21st Century Fox signed Abernethy to a new multi-year contract.⁵ The settlement itself stayed secret until January 2017, when reporting by the New York Times and Wall Street Journal brought it to light.⁶

What Huddy Alleged

A draft demand letter from Huddy’s attorneys described conduct by O’Reilly dating to 2011. He invited her to his Long Island home and attempted to kiss her, took her to dinner and the theater, and on one occasion opened the door of his hotel room wearing only boxer shorts after she returned a room key.⁶ She alleged he called her repeatedly, and that during some of those calls it sounded as though he was masturbating.⁴ After she rebuffed his advances, her segments on The O’Reilly Factor were canceled and she was moved to a 4:30 a.m. time slot on a local affiliate.⁷

The same letter accused Abernethy, who ran Fox Television Stations, of constantly calling Huddy at the office and asking her to come by his office, and of retaliating when she declined.⁷ O’Reilly denied the claims.⁴ Fox News spokeswoman Irena Briganti said the demand letter “contains substantial falsehoods, which both men have vehemently denied.”

The NDA and the Bombshell Breach

Huddy later described the non-disclosure agreement as carrying severe financial penalties for any breach. Other Fox NDA holders have said their agreements required them to return all settlement money and pay the company’s legal fees if they spoke publicly.⁸

In March 2019, Huddy met with Bombshell screenwriter Charles Randolph to share her perspective for the film, which dramatized the Fox News harassment scandals. The meeting violated her NDA. She said the film had already been shot by the time Randolph contacted her, and she disputed a scene in which Megyn Kelly’s character visits Huddy’s character (played by Jennifer Morrison) at a local affiliate, saying the event never happened.²

Huddy said the breach carried a $500,000 penalty. “I lost my house. My television career combusted, and I couldn’t get a job for over a year,” she said. “So come after me. I don’t have anything.”²⁹ Fox News declined to comment on whether it would enforce the NDA penalties against Huddy or other women who spoke to the filmmakers.

Huddy had earlier spoken about why women sign such agreements at all. “Some people just want to make it go away and move on with their lives,” she said. “I think people have regrets when they sign non-disclosure agreements. If there weren’t non-disclosures, more women could feel, ‘OK, I could potentially fight this,’ if you know other women had gone through the same thing.”¹

Her Brother’s Firing After She Spoke Out

In October 2017, Huddy appeared on NBC’s Megyn Kelly Today to discuss her experience publicly for the first time, describing herself as “terrified of retribution.”¹⁰ Minutes after her October 23 appearance, Fox News fired her brother, John Huddy, a Jerusalem-based foreign correspondent who had worked for the network since 2014.¹¹

Fox News attributed the termination to a “physical altercation” at an airport in Barcelona earlier that month.¹² John Huddy denied any physical altercation took place, saying he’d had an argument with a freelance photographer who pushed a cart into him but that “no blows were exchanged.” He called the timing “more than just a coincidence” and noted he had previously complained to his bureau chief about colleagues disparaging the women who accused O’Reilly, including his sister.¹¹

Where Huddy’s Deal Fit in the O’Reilly Pattern

Huddy’s settlement was one of at least six known agreements involving O’Reilly. An April 2017 New York Times investigation by Emily Steel and Michael Schmidt first revealed that O’Reilly and 21st Century Fox had paid five women a combined $13 million to resolve harassment claims. The reporting described a recurring pattern: O’Reilly would offer professional mentorship to build a bond, then pursue a sexual relationship, leaving women who rejected him to fear professional consequences.¹³

More than 50 advertisers pulled out of The O’Reilly Factor after the investigation, and Fox News terminated O’Reilly on April 19, 2017.¹⁴ A later Times report in October 2017 revealed that O’Reilly had reached an additional $32 million settlement with a former Fox News analyst in January 2017, bringing the known total to roughly $45 million across six agreements. The network had given O’Reilly a new four-year contract worth $25 million a year just weeks after it learned of that settlement.¹⁵

Huddy Today

After leaving Fox News, Huddy struggled to find television work. In February 2019, she joined WABC radio (770 AM) in New York as a midday co-host alongside Curtis Sliwa on a program called Curtis and Juliet.¹⁶ She has since hosted her own program on the station, Juliet: Unexpected with Juliet Huddy.¹⁷

1
The Hollywood Reporter. Megyn Kelly: I Complained About Bill O’Reilly’s Behavior
2
The Hollywood Reporter. Secret Sources of Bombshell: Why Fox News Staffers Broke NDAs for Filmmakers
3
Los Angeles Times. Fox News Settles Claims of Harassment by Bill O’Reilly
4
NPR. Fox News Allegedly Settled Sexual Harassment Case Against Bill O’Reilly
5
People. Fox News Quietly Settles Sexual Harassment Suit With Former Host Juliet Huddy
6
The New York Times. Fox News Settled Sexual Harassment Allegations Against Bill O’Reilly
7
BuzzFeed News. Fox News Settled Sexual Harassment Allegations
8
Columbia Journalism Review. #MeToo at Fox News
9
Daily Mail. Juliet Huddy Spoke to Bombshell Writer
10
Deadline. Megyn Kelly: Fox Fired John Huddy After Sister’s Interview on Today Show
11
The Hollywood Reporter. Fox News Fires Brother of Bill O’Reilly Accuser Juliet Huddy
12
The Hill. Fox News Fires Brother of O’Reilly Accuser
13
The New York Times. Bill O’Reilly Thrived at Fox News After Settling Sexual Harassment Claims
14
The New York Times. Bill O’Reilly Is Forced Out at Fox News
15
The New York Times. Bill O’Reilly Settled New Harassment Claim, Then Fox Renewed His Contract
16
RadioInsight. Juliet Huddy Joins Curtis Sliwa in Middays at WABC
17
WABC Radio. Juliet: Unexpected With Juliet Huddy