A video of former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly berating a Jet Blue employee at JFK airport has left viewers appalled.
Upon finding out his flight to Turks and Caicos was delayed, The O'Reilly Factor talking head demanded to speak with a manager.
A bystander captured what happened next.
Watch the video below:
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
The person filming identified the demeaning customer as none other than Bill O'Reilly.
The fired, scandal-ridden former Fox News host stood at the Jet Blue Customer Service desk pointing fingers at the employee, obviously already involved in a tense exchange.
He can be heard saying to the employee:
"No, no, no ... You're gonna find out."
He then asked the employee's name squinting at his name tag. Once he learned the name, he used a number of expletives, calling the employee "a f*cking scumbag."
In the clip, O'Reilly can be seen crowding the employee in an aggressive manner.
The employee answered back:
"You're threatening me with violence man."
The berating continued, as O'Reilly said:
"You're gonna get me that information."
"You're gonna lose you're job."
He then looked back at his name tag to make sure he got it right, looked back up at the employee, pointed at him and said:
"You'll see."
In response to the now viral video, one person tweeted:
"Saw Bill O'Reilly trending and assumed it was for something awful. It was."
"On Easter Sunday, O'Reilly threatened a Jet Blue employee because his flight was delayed."
"It was ugly."
Saw Bill O'Reilly trending and assumed it was for something awful. \nIt was.\nOn Easter Sunday, O'Reilly threatened a Jet Blue employee because his flight was delayed.\nIt was ugly.pic.twitter.com/tDfuTz1eJH— Victoria Brownworth (@Victoria Brownworth) 1650447528
A former airline employee spoke out about the incident.
They commented:
"As a former frontline airline employee, I was taught to be kind, no matter how abusive a customer might be. It’s not right that people can verbally attack employees and suffer no consequences."
"I didn’t delay your plane, and that decision might actually save your life."
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
Hi @JetBlue - it would be lovely if you banned @BillOReilly from any future Jet Blue flights.\n\nI think it would set a good example all around for people not to swear at and threaten your employees.\n\nThank you very much.https://twitter.com/ronfilipkowski/status/1516536345476407315\u00a0\u2026— MimZWay (@MimZWay) 1650408602
Bill OReilly is a nobody. Like the employee he\u2019s talking to can control the flight schedule— BABailey (@BABailey) 1650416869
Someone else sarcastically remarked:
"Really can’t believe that one gate agent personally delayed Bill OReilly’s flight to Turks and Caicos."
"Ballsy."
Really can\u2019t believe that one gate agent personally delayed Bill OReilly\u2019s flight to Turks and Caicos. Ballsy.— Democrats Were Right About This Years Ago (@Democrats Were Right About This Years Ago) 1650458627
Someone else characterized the interaction as where White privilege and toxic masculinity collide.
"Just look at BO's body language to that poor guy who likely makes $12 an hour."
"He's totally moving in on him, trying to intimidate."
"This is where #WhitePrivilege and #ToxicMasculinity collide to create one giant blubbering White male baby."
Just look at BO's body language to that poor guy who likely makes $12 an hour. He's totally moving in on him, trying to intimidate. This is where #WhitePrivilege and #ToxicMasculinity collide to create one giant blubbering white male baby.— Heidi K\u00fcbler (@Heidi K\u00fcbler) 1650406273
What makes Bill OReilly so special when a flight is delayed. Threatening a job?— Sue (@Sue) 1650452174
O'Reilly was removed from the Fox News network following a sexual harassment scandal uncovered by The New York Times in 2017.
It was reported the host was accused by at least five different women of making unwanted sexual advances. He and Fox News orchestrated a multimillion dollar payout to the women to sweep the issue under the rug.
Someone, hinting at the incident, tweeted:
"Didn’t [Fox News] already put Bill O’Reilly on a No Watch List a few years ago?"
Didn\u2019t @FoxNews already put Bill O\u2019Reilly on a No Watch List a few years ago? @BillOReillyhttps://twitter.com/ronfilipkowski/status/1516536345476407315\u00a0\u2026— PoliticOhMyGawd (@PoliticOhMyGawd) 1650414133
Another person wrote:
"Is this the same Bill O'Reilly who paid $32 million to bring sexual harassment claims against him to an end?"
Is this the same Bill O'Reilly who paid $32 million to bring sexual harassment claims against him to an end?— Michael J. Stern (@Michael J. Stern) 1650412362
People were hardly shocked by the ex-Fox host's demeaner on Easter Sunday given his long, infamous track record.
Still, one could hope some day he'd learn to—as Melania Trump implored—Be Best.
