Video shows Bill O’Reilly bullying an airline employee when his flight is delayed
Some right-wing media figures who can be combative and abrasive on the air can be surprisingly nice off the air; the late Irv Homer, a libertarian radio host in Philadelphia, once commented that as “bellicose” as right-wing radio host Tom Marr (who died in 2016) was on the air, he could be genuinely nice away from the microphone. But former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, on the other hand, has a reputation for being as much of a bully off the air as he is on the air — and he lived up to that reputation during a Sunday, April 17 incident at New York City’s John F. Kennedy Airport.
Video posted on Twitter shows O’Reilly bullying an employee of JetBlue Airlines at JFK, where the right-wing radio host was upset because his flight to the Turks and Caicos Islands was delayed.
On Sunday, former Fox host Bill O\u2019Reilly threatened a JetBlue employee at JFK Airport after his flight to Turks & Caicos was delayed: \u201cYou f*cking scumbag! You\u2019re gonna lose your job!\u201dpic.twitter.com/30LFyNy2Yj— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1650405415
An angry O’Reilly can be seen in the video calling the employee a “fucking scumbag” and threatening, “You’re gonna lose your job.”
At one point in the video, the employee can be heard saying, “You’re threatening me with violence” — to which O’Reilly replies, “No, I’m not. You’re the one.”
O’Reilly, true to form, painted himself as the victim. But some Twitter users have responded that the video speaks for itself.
The character assassins on social media completely lying about my interaction with a JetBlue guy who misled passengers during a five-hour delay. We've covered on http://BillOReilly.com\u00a0. I expected this.— Bill O'Reilly (@Bill O'Reilly) 1650396547
Except you were caught on tape, LOSER https://twitter.com/ronfilipkowski/status/1516536345476407315\u00a0\u2026— Debbie (@Debbie) 1650416117
We all saw and heard you. Are we suppose to not believe what we saw?https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1516536345476407315?t=0tOZl33gbwq7lcNhrRXaTA&s=19\u00a0\u2026— Tira Wiley (@Tira Wiley) 1650426113
Here are some more responses to the video from Twitter users:
I will never, ever understand blaming the person at the desk for a delay in something they themselves have ZERO control over. Just like how the associate at the local grocery or dept store has zero control over inventory and pricing.— Molly Church (@Molly Church) 1650406795
As a former frontline airline employee, I was taught to be kind, no matter how abusive a customer might be. It\u2019s not right that people can verbally attack employees and suffer no consequences. I didn\u2019t delay your plane, and that decision might actually save your life.— Viking Italian Princess \ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\u2665\ufe0f\ud83e\uddf6\ud83d\udc08\u200d\u2b1b \ud83d\udc08 \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Viking Italian Princess \ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\u2665\ufe0f\ud83e\uddf6\ud83d\udc08\u200d\u2b1b \ud83d\udc08 \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1650414494
@BillOReilly Why were you so rude? Do you really think that guy has any control over delayed or cancelled flights? If you can\u2019t handle being delayed, then charter a private flight.— Jamey (@Jamey) 1650406536
He is also not wearing his mask properly. An all around bad guy.— Richard Signorelli (@Richard Signorelli) 1650406069
This is so shocking to me because I was always thought bill would be a super nice person.— Frank (Kneecap Biter) (@Frank (Kneecap Biter)) 1650416875
@BillOReilly Why were you so rude? Do you really think that guy has any control over delayed or cancelled flights? If you can\u2019t handle being delayed, then charter a private flight.— Jamey (@Jamey) 1650406536
When it comes to \u201closing your job\u201d Bill O\u2019Reilly knows what he\u2019s talking about. @BillOReilly #BillOReillyhttps://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/4/19/15361182/bill-oreilly-fox-harassment-allegations-fired\u00a0\u2026— Damon \ud83e\udde2\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83d\udc89\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Damon \ud83e\udde2\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83d\udc89\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1650406611
Karen Alert!pic.twitter.com/uujn44Qbtk— Michael Justice (@Michael Justice) 1650407097
Guy who lost his job because he sexually harassed co-workers tells someone else "You're gonna lose your job!" Film at eleven.— Reverend Lars \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6 (@Reverend Lars \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6) 1650406368
He\u2019s also accustomed to using his physical size/height to intimidate people (note how he leans in, invading the other person\u2019s space), but as he gets older and more decrepit, it has less and less of the desired effect. He\u2019s just a sad, disgraced old man now.— Eric Jones (@Eric Jones) 1650408200
Oh how the mighty have fallen...\nCommercial, not private jet.\nNo VIP Lounge.\nNo personal airline concierge to escort you from car to tarmac.\nI'll even bet he thinks the air fare is outrageous and I'm sure he has someone special he's meeting there.— Fitzhughe the Flatulent \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89 (@Fitzhughe the Flatulent \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89) 1650419894
I wouldn\u2019t let Bill fly on the plane at all for abuse. As if it\u2019s the man at the check-in gates fault that the plane is delayed. Seriously .— Balance the Court \ud83c\udfdb\u2696\ufe0f (@Balance the Court \ud83c\udfdb\u2696\ufe0f) 1650473667
Bill O\u2019Reilly having yet another meltdown, then getting the vapors and then fanning himself with yet another victim card was literally on everyone\u2019s Bingo card, so don\u2019t even ask.https://twitter.com/billoreilly/status/1516499149881020417\u00a0\u2026— PoliticOhMyGawd (@PoliticOhMyGawd) 1650424519
