"Social media is not just a place we 'go' anymore. It's a place we live, work, and play. That's why it's more crucial than ever to ensure that all people can safely access these spaces and freely express themselves without fear of retribution," Jenna Sherman, campaign director at UltraViolet
"Adriana Smith's family should have had a choice. Her mother was clear that she wanted to make the decision about whether her daughter's body should be kept on life support. But Georgia doctors and legislators failed Adriana and her family." said Arisha Hatch, interim executive director of UltraViolet
Ultraviolet, a women’s rights group, was one of the leading voices in organizing women across the country to call for O’Reilly’s resignation. The group coordinated a demonstration outside of Fox News studios, and promoted a petition to the network that gained over 480,000 signatures. The group voiced their concerns in an open letter to Fox. An excerpt touches on the national impact of not holding men accountable.
Fox’s complicity in sexual harassment is part of a larger culture that allows for and ignores sexual assault and violence against women. We urge you to choose women’s safety and justice for survivors by getting rid of O’Reilly once and for all.
The group that organized that protest, Ultraviolet, announced Wednesday that it will continue to place pressure on the network.
“Fox News’ problem with sexual harassment and assault is way bigger than just Bill O’Reilly,” said Ultraviolet co-founder Shaunna Thomas. “For years, Fox News executives, like Bill Shine, have provided cover for systematic sexual harassment and abuse of Fox New’s employees. From Roger Ailes to Bill O’Reilly, Fox News has consistently failed to provide a workplace safe from sexual harassment and abuse — and that’s a big problem.”
The women’s rights group Ultraviolet is spearheading a demonstration Tuesday for Fox News to remove one of its hosts, Bill O’Reilly, from the air. The rally follows recent disclosures that the network and the 67-year-old anchor paid millions of dollars to women claiming he had sexually assaulted them during their employment at the conservative news outlet.
“Fox News has a problem with sexual assault – and it’s bigger than just Bill O’Reilly,” said Shaunna Thomas, co-founder of UltraViolet. “For years, Fox News executives have provided cover for Bill O’Reilly’s systematic harassment and abuse of other Fox New’s employees – making it hard to take their promises to investigate such crimes seriously. Fox News needs to prove to the public – and its advertisers – that the era of covering up sexual assault is over. That means – firing Bill O’Reilly immediately and conducting a comprehensive and independent investigation into sexual abuse at the network – firing anyone involved in, or complicit in covering up, those crimes.”