During the May 10 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Bill O'Reilly compared liberal radio host and author Al Franken -- as well as “assassins” on the “Internet” and “cable television” -- to a New York City radio disc jockey who threatened “to do an R. Kelly” on the four-year-old daughter of a rival station's announcer. O'Reilly described the DJ's threat to “do an R. Kelly” as “want[ing] to attack [the rival's] four-year-old daughter.” R. Kelly is an R&B singer who was “indicted on 21 counts of child pornography stemming from a videotape that allegedly shows him having sex with an underage girl,” according to CNN.com.

O'Reilly declared the DJ's remarks to be a “very troubling aspect of American society” which “started on the Internet where you have a bunch of people there who assassinate people; say vile things about people; threaten people every single day.” O'Reilly stated: "[Y]ou know who these people are. ... I don't have to name them for you." Continuing, O'Reilly claimed that the “hatred, vitriol, [and] defamation” has spread to radio and cable television and specifically pointed to Franken as “a vile ... disgusting human being, that's failing in every way.” O'Reilly claimed, “You got a couple of people on cable news programs that do this every night of the week, and the big companies that employ them are the companies that should be held accountable.”

On May 10, Clear Channel Communications fired Troi Torain, known locally as DJ Star on top-rated radio station Power 105 (WWPR), for offering listeners $500 for information on the four-year-old daughter of a rival announcer, because Torain wished to “disrespect [his] seed.” Torain added: “If you didn't hear me, I said I would like to do an R. Kelly on your seed. On your little baby girl.” According to the New York Daily News:

Torain, 42, described in graphic detail what he meant by the reference to the R&B singer Kelly, who allegedly committed an unnatural act on an underage girl, a stunt captured on a widely circulated video.

Torain has since apologized for his comments and is reportedly being investigated for possibly having committed a hate crime with his remarks.

From the May 11 edition of Westwood One's The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly:

O'REILLY: Clear Channel is a big radio company. It employed a DJ named Star in New York City . Here's what this guy said. Go.

TORAIN [audio clip]: Yes, I've disrespected your seed. Where -- where does kid go to school? I've got 500 bucks for that -- for that information. If you didn't hear me, I said I would like to do an R. Kelly on your seed.

O'REILLY: OK. So this vile individual who, again, works for a major media company in this country has a feud with another DJ on another channel in New York City and -- and wants to attack his four-year-old daughter. By that -- that's what an R. Kelly is.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's disgusting.

O'REILLY: OK. So, he asked his listeners to tell him where the little girl goes to school and offered $500 for that information.

Now, the guy's been fired. He's been fired. OK. But he wasn't fired until a local New York politician brought it to the media. Clear Channel didn't fire him the moment he said it. They kept him there. So, this, ladies and gentlemen, is a -- a very troubling aspect of American society -- extremely troubling. It started on the Internet where you have a bunch of people there who assassinate people; say vile things about people; threaten people every single day. Then, it morphed into radio. And you know who these people are. I don't have to -- I don't have to name them for you. You know who they are. Where everyday , they just spew hatred, vitriol, defamation on the radio. And now, it's in cable television. It's in cable television.

You got a couple of people on cable news programs that do this every night of the week, and the big companies that employ them are the companies that should be held accountable. OK.

Now , if you are a famous person at all, you cannot sue. If you have any notoriety at all, if anybody knows your name, you can't sue. And if you do sue, then you empower the person who's attacking you. You see, you give them more publicity.

You know when that -- when that vile Al Franken, that disgusting human being that's failing in every way he can. The -- Air America just lost their New York City affiliate. When he attacked me in his book a couple of weeks ago -- not a couple of weeks ago, a couple of years ago -- News Corporation made a mistake in actually trying to sue the guy, and, of course, that helped his book sales.

Now, his last book bombed, nobody bought it, because we all ignored it. So, that's what I'm saying to you. If you give these people any publicity, if you mention their name, if you take them to court, then they prosper. That's what they want, these assassins.