Think Progress

O’Reilly’s meltdown: ‘F*ck it! F*cking thing sucks!’

Between 1989 and 1995, Bill O’Reilly hosted the entertainment program “Inside Edition.” A new behind-the-scenes video from his time there has surfaced, showing O’Reilly flipping out because of a teleprompter malfunction. “I can’t read it! There’s no words on it!” shouts O’Reilly. Watch it:

(HT: JulianWan)

Update O'Reilly explains his rant: "That video was just me practicing for my conversations with Geraldo."
Update CBS has ordered YouTube to take down the video, but it can still be viewed here.


71 Responses to “O’Reilly’s meltdown: ‘F*ck it! F*cking thing sucks!’”

  1. Perry logan says:

    Wingers have a problem with impulse control.


  2. DieNowForPeace says:

    Saw this on theZoo already this morning.

    Funny. He should get a hairpiece like his old “do”.


  3. geoffdmiller says:

    Where do you find someone evil enough to put words in to O’Reilly’s mouth?


  4. Zimzone says:

    And there you have it.
    Billdo’s entire prior journalistic experience was hosting a gossip show.

    Not much has changed, eh?


  5. Red Pill says:

    Hush, baby. Take your bottle…


  6. DRxJ says:

    As much as I enjoy watching a Falafel boy meltdown, and this particular youtube clip does give us a glimpse into his “psyche”, I do wonder, though, what purpose this offers to progressives, especially since it was decades ago?


  7. hanshiro says:

    This was his resume for Fox…he was a shoo-in.


  8. joe cantwell says:

    it’s this kind of drive and passion that won him a peabody award!


  9. joe cantwell says:

    or was it a polk?


  10. Little Freep Goofballs says:

    DRxJ:

    If nothing else the clip will demonstrate, for those who have little background knowledge about BillO, his propensity for making mountains out of molehills.


  11. RobertSeattle says:

    Anger Management class begins at 8:00 PM…


  12. McWars says:

    His son, rhf, must have been driving him nuts, making him irritable on the job.


  13. apwusteward says:

    hey, When does his next childrens book come out?

    Hopefully it will be one about dealing with adversity in an adult, calm and responsible manner.

    All that rage over a teleprompter?

    Anyone got the Glick footage where he attacked that kid whose father was killed in the WTC attack on 9-11? Shows he has the same rage.

    Apwu


  14. celtic cynic says:

    BillO really has a way with words and the imagination to use them effectively.


  15. Badmoodman says:

    Gosh, this must mean there were no Natalee Holloway stories for TP to cover.


  16. barfly says:

    I’ll bet the little dear also demanded to be paid for writing his own impromptu script.


  17. Saint Augustine says:

    I’d like to see Colbert do a flashback on his own early days, since he does O’Biley so well!


  18. TheRadicalRightisRadicallyWrong says:

    What a complete and utter TOOL!


  19. Wayne A. Schneider says:

    I wonder how much of that actually made it to air that day. Did the viewers catch any of O’Reilly standing up at the end, obviously swearing loudly again as he throws something on the table, and leaving the set in a huff? And I wonder which new song of Sting’s were they playing? Was it “Desert Rose”, which starts with Arabic prayer chant? (”I dream of rain-e-yain-e-yain…”)


  20. kassandrasduplex says:

    And he is rewarded with more air time and more money to spew his personality like loose stools. This should be proof to all what kind of people the top brass and execs at the major networks want influencing the minds of America’s televidiot class.


  21. GSD says:

    So that is acceptable beahvior in the workplace for a supposed Christian man like Dildo Bill?

    Jeebus weeps.

    -GSD


  22. Witch1 says:

    I had to deal with a person just like that yesterday…He showed up at this tiny resort with two children in tow using abusive language and demanding to rent a boat….I sent him packing in short order and never used a bad word to do it..I did suggest he get some anger management help though….Felt sorry for his kid’s, they may turn out the same….

    A belated Thank you to DRxJ, for all you do and have done in the past….Blessings


  23. ralph the wonder llama says:

    DRxJ Says:

    As much as I enjoy watching a Falafel boy meltdown, and this particular youtube clip does give us a glimpse into his “psyche”, I do wonder, though, what purpose this offers to progressives, especially since it was decades ago?

    I thought the same thing, DRxJ, but then I watched the clip and it was so much fun to watch the bully lose it over nothing that I forgave TP for posting it.

    Sometimes you gotta have some fun things to comment on, no?


  24. IgnoranceIsNotBliss says:

    What’s going to be even funnier to watch is how O’Lielly tries to spin this.


  25. Zooey says:

    Give Bill a break! He’s a very important gossip show host! :P


  26. Zimzone says:

    I was just imagining what would happen to the Geritol Kid if he lost his teleprompter…

    how many times in a row can you say, ‘my friends’?


  27. AlphaLiberal says:

    Ha-ha!

    Someone wants his loofah rub!


  28. Patty says:

    He’ll just say this incident from his youth reflects his long-standing perfectionism and attention to detail so that he, the otherwise affable fellow, can reliably bring to his trusted readers the quality of professionalism on which he prides himself.


  29. Patty says:

    whoops — “trusted viewers,” not “readers.”


  30. joe cantwell says:

    btw, this thing’s gone viral.


  31. ralph the wonder llama says:

    At least he wasn’t yelling for his muthafu(kin iced tea.


  32. misshusseinmolly says:

    Eh — I’d give Bill a pass on this one, although I have to admit that watching a meltdown from him is entertaining.

    I remember one day when I was about twelve or so, my father stomped away from the family dinner table after first cursing a blue streak and throwing down his fork. The reason for his anger? His salad wouldn’t stay on his fork. Now, my father is normally a calm, rational man. But he had had a very bad, frustrating day filled with a lot of annoyances, and the salad was just the final straw that pushed him over the edge. Even today in our family, when we say that our salad isn’t staying on our fork, it means that we are on our last nerve and are seconds away from losing it completely.

    We all have bad days. At least Bill didn’t have his meltdown on the air. His everyday conduct on the air is bad enough.


  33. Leftside Annie says:

    Well, gee, if Rev. Wright’s 30 years of sermons are fair game – why not Billo’s BS…?

    That’s right, Billo – it works BOTH WAYS.

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!! Keep on meltin’, Billy. ;o)


  34. Amos Anan says:

    Two things struck me about the clip. The first was that the person O’Reilly was losing it on apparently was ignoring his rants, almost as if they were a regular part of the job, like dealing with someone with Tourette Syndrome. If my boss had flipped out like that I’d pretty much drop the teleprompter attempts and go with doing it live. But that wasn’t what happened. The voice just went on and O’Reilly instantly did so too. Very strange.

    The other aspect was the quick shift from raging psycho to nodding, winking, smiling tele-friend. Geez, these people are fundamentally evil. I’d heard on a personal level about Danny Kaye, a supposed kid’s best friend, being like that, which a George Carlin interview later confirmed. The sweet nature is just a cover for a self-centered egomaniac. To watch it in a “live” video in a blink of an eye personality shift – well, it’s breath taking that these sort of people dominate our national discourse.


  35. TheToonGuy says:


    Saint Augustine Says:

    I’d like to see Colbert do a flashback on his own early days, since he does O’Biley so well!

    Colbert did do something very similar during the writer’s strike, though not nearly as explosive as Bill.


  36. hellinabucket says:

    I am so glad I logged in this morning. That is priceless!!! Bill gets mighty testy when new words are put in front of him.


  37. BrianFL says:

    These are only the rants we hear about. It’s clear by his general personality that he acts like this all the time. He must be such a joy to work with.

    And to think, he based this entire rant on not understanding what “…and here is Sting to play us out”. So he’s a moron on top of having serious anger issues.

    I love that this video is all over the internet this morning. Couldn’t happen to a better person.


  38. bluestatedon says:

    While it was fun to see O’Reilly lose it in an undignfied fashion, there are other famous celebrity rants that are far more entertaining, such as one memorable f-bomb-rant by Casey Kasem and a hysterically obscene outburst by former Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver.


  39. hellinabucket says:

    It’s a rough and tumble world where the “Big boys play”. Where everything is fair game. Is this before or after his phone sex scandal?


  40. Erroll says:

    #35-Amos Anan

    Interesting observation. O’Reilly’s shifting of moods reminded me of the classic film A Face In The Crowd, when Andy Griffith’s down home country philosopher television personality, Lonesome Rhodes, would appear to the audience to be one of the them but after the camera stopped rolling he would unmercifully berate the cast and crew of his show. At the end of the film, those who were watching television saw Griffith’s true character when the camera and the sound kept rolling and Griffith’s character boasted how he was putting one over on all the country bumpkins who were watching his show. Griffith’s character, Lonesome Rhodes, ends up being a has been. If only the same fate could happen to O’Reilly.


  41. hellinabucket says:

    bluestatedon, you are so right. Cub fans were just reminded of Lee Elia blasting the bleacher bums on a 5 minute rant. A complete melt down and one of the all time greats.


  42. hellinabucket says:

    Good catch Amos Anan. Whomever that was off camera knew how to get what was needed out of BO.

    Bill O’Reilly is somebody’s puppet.


  43. Paul W says:

    I wish he would meltdown. Maybe we could melt all the Limbaughs, O’Reillys and Coulters et al, into one big lump and erect a monument to irrelevancy.

    http://progressiveworldreview.com


  44. scytherius says:

    While no one with a brain or soul has any respect for Bill O’Reilly . . . I have even less respect for those that hired and promoted this little man.


  45. stewarjt says:

    His mental meltdown reminds me of the SNL skit with David Alan Grier where the morning show hosts turn to cannibalism because the teleprompter malfunctions.


  46. hussein toasterhead says:

    DRxJ Says:

    As much as I enjoy watching a Falafel boy meltdown, and this particular youtube clip does give us a glimpse into his “psyche”, I do wonder, though, what purpose this offers to progressives, especially since it was decades ago?

    May 12th, 2008 at 10:00 am
    ______

    Pure, satisfying entertainment.


  47. editwizard says:

    I guess if you’ve never witnessed live or taped TV in a studio before this may look extreme. While Bill certainly is a lunatic, I’ve seen my share of well known hosts/anchors go completely mental with some seemingly ‘minor’ technical glitch! That’s when they seem to freak out the worst.

    What it looked like to me was they were running out of time taping the bumpers before the live show, (or maybe before Bill’s lunch) and the producer/writer didn’t give him a closer on the prompter and he lost it b/c he didn’t know what he needed to say. This stuff happens all the time in TV – and when the host goes ballistic like that it always makes the best gag reel.


  48. dasm says:

    O’reilly continues to blame “the left” for all offensive language, painting himself as someone who never stoops to using crude words or expressions. That’s why this is so good.


  49. Buckie Boy says:

    Bildo “Falafel Pervert” O’LIElly seems like a very reasonable, well mannered professional, and a joy to work with by all his co-workers. What a delightful man.

    Amazing that someone never poisoned his coffee.


  50. wisedup says:

    Temper temper little man, I wonder what he’s like today off camera as his ratings slide in the dumper.


  51. Shayne says:

    That’s Entertainment!


  52. Potfry says:

    Anybody who’s been on a set knows that these types of outbursts are as common as…well, whining at Think Progress. Sure, it’s funny, but it’s hardly news.


  53. JaneaneTheAcerbicGoblin says:

    This reminds me of the David O. Russell meltdown on the set of I Heart Huckabees, except Russell is slightly more talented than Bildo (which isn’t saying much).


  54. JaneaneTheAcerbicGoblin says:

    Many news anchors are just overpaid pretty people who panic at the slightest technical malfunction, so this type of behaviour happens quite often. Having said that, seeing the sanctimonious O’Reilly have a meltdown is funny. The other news anchors aren’t so sanctimonious and hypocrticial as he is.


  55. Wayne A. Schneider says:

    Potfry Says:

    Anybody who’s been on a set knows that these types of outbursts are as common as…well, whining at Think Progress. Sure, it’s funny, but it’s hardly news.

    May 12th, 2008 at 12:37 pm

    So? This site isn’t about “news”, it is, as described on their “About Us” page, “a forum that advances progressive ideas and policies.” Providing a video clip that shows the ignorance of a major player in the anti-progressive forces is information we find both helpful and extremely entertaining. And you’re right, it’s not “news”, but it isn’t supposed to be.


  56. joe cantwell says:

    billy can whine too.

    :)


  57. Guy_Fawkes says:

    CBS is doing its damnedest to get that taken off YouTube… Watch it while you can…


  58. helenahandbasket says:

    I want front seat tickets when his head explodes.


  59. joe cantwell says:

    helenahandbasket Says:
    I want front seat tickets when his head explodes.

    that’ll be when al franken wins the senate race in minnesota.


  60. Leftside Annie says:

    Front row seats, eh?

    I’ll bring the garbage bags! ;o)


  61. DRxJ says:

    Okay, I’ve watched it twice now.
    What a little twit falafel boy is.
    I now recommend that if any progressive is at one of his public “book” signings (or such), please just yell out…
    FU(K IT!. WE’LL DO IT LIVE!!!“, then mention a vibrator.
    Seriously, someone has to do this. Just so we can witness his head explode, like that dude in Scanners!


  62. ninique says:

    omg, I wonder, maybe he should be on anti-psychotics. For real, like he could injure the camera guy or something.


  63. ninique says:

    I really think something must be done be for his head does indeed explode. He’s like a shaken 2 liter bottle of soda!


  64. Shayne says:

    For the two trolls who insist this is normal behavior on the set … NO … it isn’t. It’s the reason “talent” gets fired just like Billdo did.


  65. dixie blood says:

    Shayne Says:
    ——————————————————————————–

    For the two trolls who insist this is normal behavior on the set … NO … it isn’t. It’s the reason “talent” gets fired just like Billdo did.

    Shayne,

    I’m not a troll and I must correct you. I worked at NBC as a studio tech for SNL, Today Show, Live at Five (local news), and various specials, etc. And I’ve seen the talent do exactly what Billdo did and more. I will not name names. But I will tell you that the nicest newscaster I’ve worked around is Jack Caffery. Sue Simmons is was real nice too.

    I don’t think those 2 posts you refer to are from trolls and they are very close to the truth or right on target as I observed first hand.

    Call me a troll too if you like…


  66. southrnbelle says:

    Looks like Bildo needs his bottle and nap.

    Love the hair!!!!!!


  67. SP Biloxi says:

    F-Bomb BillO is certainly in running to surpass John “Captain Crunch” Bolton for the Anger Management award. And I believe BillO will win the gold! Go BillO!


  68. Keith H. says:

    That is just funny!
    It’s no wonder he’s pissed though, if I looked like billy, I’d slit my wrists.


  69. Xisithrus says:

    Talk about your prima donnas, no wonder he doesnt want people to see his true colors.



  70. youtube says:

    Arguing with them is the same as arguing with your cat. They will scratch, they will hiss, and even on their best days they still, for reasonssohbet unbeknown to the rest of us, pee on your carpet. Hoekstra et al are racist thugs. They will not understand a document as important at the one reported Bedava mp3 indirby the A.P. What this document has said is that for years, words like Jihadists, Islamic Terrorism, Islamic Extremism etccet have done nothing but castigate Muslim men and women.



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