Bill O'Reilly Breaks Silence on Being Fired From Fox News

Bill O'Reilly is sad. That's what the embattled TV host said when he broke his silence this week about being fired from Fox News on April 19.

In a 19-minute podcast posted on O'Reilly's website Monday night, the cable news pundit told his fans, "I am sad that I'm not on television anymore," before once again hinting that a conspiracy theory was behind his firing. "I was very surprised how it all turned out. I can't say a lot, because there's much stuff going on right now. But I can tell you that I'm 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. There's a lot of stuff involved here."

O'Reilly explained that he wouldn't say anymore because he didn't want to give the media any more ammunition to use turn against him. "I don't want the media to take what I say and misconstrue it. However, you, as a loyal O'Reilly listener, have a right to know, I think, down the lane what exactly happened. And we are working in that direction, OK?"

Bill O'Reilly fired from Fox News

After more than 20 years on the network, O'Reilly said he doesn't have any bad blood with Fox News for cutting ties with him in the midst of a growing sexual harassment scandal. "You know, that vehicle was fabulous for me and I said in the beginning that I'm sad, but why wouldn't I wish them the best? They were there, we performed well for them, and that's the fact," he said.

Last Wednesday, while O'Reilly was vacationing in Italy, Fox News announced that it had parted ways with its top-rated host effective immediately. The decision came after The O'Reilly Factor host became increasingly toxic amid reports that O'Reilly and Fox News paid millions of dollars to multiple women to settle allegations of sexual harassment, resulting in a sweeping loss in advertisers and public protests.

Ahead of his exit, O'Reilly's lawyer, Marc E. Kasowitz, claimed that the accusations were the result of a smear campaign organized by the far-left, which he says is "bent on destroying O'Reilly for political and financial reasons." Kasowitz claimed to have "irrefutable" evidence of the conspiracy against O'Reilly, but neither his firm nor the host have released anything to that effect.

O'Reilly plans to continue releasing a podcast, No Spin News, to paid subscribers to his website, which he hopes will develop "into a genuine news program."