I would not include the O'Reilly statement. It is plausible, with the money he was making, that he decided it was better to go ahead and spend the fraction of his income he did to avoid a messy public situation, given what he had at stake.
I'm not saying I know he is innocent, nor am I saying he was guilty. I'm just saying the fact that there were settlements does not mean he was for sure guilty. Innocent people/companies sometimes settle because the cost...even of winning, is so much more.
When you consider what O'Reilly was worth, the amounts he is said to have paid out is chump-change for him. For all we know, he may also have said some things that would be highly inappropriate today, but not so much in the past, depending on the specific situation.
In the Cosby case, I really haven't looked at it closely enough to make an informed opinion. But, I am uneasy when the star witness that got him convicted admitted:
1. She went to his place voluntarily
2. She took drugs knowingly, knowing the effect they would have, and knowing she was alone in a man's apartment. And it was not uncommon for this to be a prelude to sex. One could reasonably argue that her accepting what she believed to be Ludes was back then an acknowledgement/acceptance of what could follow. If not, then she would have to have been incredibly stupid
3. She talked on two occasions to a woman who had a co-worker testify that the woman suggested to her that she could make a false accusation about a well-known celebrity and get paid. It really bothers me that the witness was able to claim that she just happened to meet this woman at the Women's march and they never once discussed Cosby. That is one helluva coincidence, and we are to believe the big thing they had in common was never mentioned?
4. I know people that, "run in her circle". They are among the most extremist liberals you will encounter. They truly believe all Republicans are evil, or at least really ignorant. In most cases, they consider themselves righteous, morally and intellectually superior, and thus their, "ends justify their means". In other words, any action they take, ethical or not, is justified because they are righting-a-wrong.
