Rebecca Diamond, one of the women who reportedly settled her sexual-harassment allegations against Bill O'Reilly, has spoken out about President Donald Trump's comments defending the Fox News host.
Diamond, a former host on Fox News and Fox Business, wrote on Twitter to Trump that she was "saddened reading your comments. Truly disappointed and vilified all over again. Such comments tell women they won't be believed".
On Wednesday, Trump told the New York Times that he thought that O'Reilly was a "good person" and that "personally, I think he shouldn't have settled. Because you should have taken it all the way; I don't think Bill did anything wrong".
On Friday, the Times reported that Diamond was among five women who have received payouts totalling about $US13 million ($A17 million) from O'Reilly and Fox News after they made claims of sexual harassment and other inappropriate behavior. Diamond agreed not to talk about the allegations as part of her settlement, according to the Times.
On Twitter, Diamond addressed Trump directly, saying that the women accusers "were forced to settle, not the other way around" because of employment agreements requiring mediation and not a trial.
According to a statement that Fox News parent 21st Century Fox gave to the Times, O'Reilly has denied the merits of the claims. He also has said that, as a public figure, he thinks that he is vulnerable to such accusations.
