The firing of Bill O’Reilly from Fox News was a complete shock to many people, considering he was the most lucrative person on Fox News. His show was the highest-rated show on the network, and he was considered Fox’s top asset. The abrasive news show host’s firing was announced on April 19 and came about as a result of multiple allegations of sexual assault made against him during his tenure at Fox.

Though many people are completely surprised that he was fired, it actually makes perfect sense if you think about it. One of the main things that people find so surprising about it is that the company severed someone who was worth so much to them. Some may consider it a victory for feminism or women, and maybe it is. But to be fair, the real reason he was fired probably has less to do with taking sexual harassment claims seriously or setting a precedent for not tolerating such harassment. Not to state the obvious, but it probably had more to do with public relations. Whenever anyone is accused of sexual assault or harassment, their reputation is ruined even if said accusations are false. Fox News was likely trying to simply spare itself from going down with him. The decision was also probably helped by the fact that O’Reilly wasn’t quite as lucrative for the company anymore. Many of his show’s advertisers pulled their ads as a result of the bad publicity he was receiving.