O'Reilly on co-host Lis Wiehl: "Every time I want" to "denigrate" someone, "I just go over to her and whack her around"

Summary: Discussing his interview with author Norman Mailer, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly told a caller to his radio show that instead of denigrating Mailer, O'Reilly could "just go over to" co-host Lis Wiehl "and whack her around."

Discussing his interview with guest and author Norman Mailer, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly told a caller that instead of denigrating Mailer, O'Reilly could "just go over to" co-host Lis Wiehl "and whack her around." He added, "figuratively speaking, of course." O'Reilly made his remarks during the March 15 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show.

As Media Matters for America has documented, O'Reilly has previously called Wiehl a "good-looking blonde" and suggested that she learn to dance for a tip. On another occasion, O'Reilly called for "a full-body search" of Wiehl, and claimed that "she asked for it." O'Reilly has also referred to Wiehl as "eye candy" and asked her to protest outside CBS studios in a bikini. Wiehl is an author, a graduate of the Harvard Law School, and a legal analyst for Fox News.

From the March 15 edition of Westwood One's The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly:

CALLER: Well, I think you also let Mr. Mailer off the hook a little bit easy. I expected you to be a little tougher on him on some of those questions.

[...]

O'REILLY: Yeah, I mean, look, look, here, here's the deal. The guy comes on the radio, we have an interesting conversation, a good back-and-forth, you get a good view of his, uh, opinion of the world, you get a good view of mine. If I'm gonna -- if I'm gonna to be mean to him, mock him, or something like that, you know, why? It makes me look like an idiot to do that. I like him. I think his book is interesting to read. I don't agree with it. But I think he's honest. I think he's passionate. I think he loves his country. Why would -- why would I want to go in and denigrate him? That's what I have Lis here for.

WIEHL: That's right.

O'REILLY: Every time I want to do that, I just go over to her and whack her around. So -- figuratively speaking, of course. Ay-ya-ya --

WIEHL: You'll get in trouble for that one.

O'REILLY: Yeah. I'm in trouble constantly.

—A.D.