Bill O'Reilly Admits Lesbian Gang Story "Overstated" But...
Reported by Deborah - July 9, 2007 -
Bill O'Reilly admitted to Rashad Robinson, GLAAD, that the recent story about lesbian gangs on The Factor, 6/21, was "overstated" and Robinson graciously thanked BOR for his effort to correct the mistake. For a brief moment O'Reilly appeared decent and even dignified but in a flash it was gone as he began explaining why he reported the story in the first place.
O'Reilly started his justification with the first story he noted but did not report initially about four women convicted in New York. Robinson reminded him that they were not considered a gang so O'Reilly rephrased with, " A pack of lesbians jumped this guy and killed him". Then BOR said he got the story about lesbians in Memphis and another from Philadelphia about a gang DTO, Dykes Taking Over. He told Robinson when he had three stories, he decided to do the report.
Robinson reminded O'Reilly that there had been no arrest in Memphis and in Philadelphia it was a one time incident by a group of 8th graders. O'Reilly claimed the 8th graders were a gang because they had a name adding that it was a valid story but admitted that the situation wasn't out of control.
Robinson was getting annoyed and told BOR that he had reported it as a "national epidemic".
O'Reilly made light of his "overstatement" with a wisecrack. "I'm not in fear of the lesbians beating me up." Then O'Reilly smoothed the tension assuring Robinson that in the future they would work together and all the usual blah blah.
It's hard to say if Bill O'Reilly would have apologized on his own if Rod Wheeler, legal analyst, hadn't admitted his facts were wrong.
"Humbly, I submit to you that as a professional, I am not too proud to admit when I've perhaps made a mistake, have misspoken, or have been misinterpreted surrounding a particular issue," he wrote. "I urge all who felt personally offended by the information provided to accept my apology, and let's focus and work together at addressing the gang and other real problems in some communities here in the United States."
