Lowe's Pulls Advertising from the O'Reilly Factor After Bill O'Reilly Effectively Said that Shawn Hornbeck Enjoyed Being Raped

The Question at Hand: Why Did Lowe's Wait so Long to Make This Decision?

By Timothy Sexton, published Feb 06, 2007
Published Content: 2,762  Total Views: 2,391,355  Favorited By: 219 CPs
Rating: 4.5 of 5
Count on Fox News' Bill O'Reilly to turn human misery into a platform by which he can offer further evidence of his utter lack of humanity. Nationwide home improvement store Lowe's has decided to no longer air advertising during The O'Reilly Factor. Because of O'Reilly's consistent inconsistency or his depraved and unwavering support for Pres. Bush's illegal invasion of Iraq? No. Lowe's has pulled its ads from The O'Reilly Factor because Bill O'Reilly recently made statements to the effect that Shawn Hornbeck-the fifteen year boy who recently made headlines when he was discovered alive four years after being kidnapped-enjoyed his experience with pedophile Mike Devlin.

Although much mystery surrounds the central question of why Shawn Hornbeck didn't attempt to escape from the clutches of his kidnapper Devlin, it is vital to keep one thing in mind when reading what Bill O'Reilly actually said that was so offensive to viewers-and when Fox News readers offend Fox viewers, boy, are you really offensive. Here is what O'Reilly said: "The situation here, for this kid, looks to me to be a lot more fun than what he had under his 'old' parents. He didn't have to go to school, he could run around and do whatever he wanted." That one thing you must keep in mind? Mike Devlin was recently charged with forcible sodomy of Shawn Hornbeck.

Admittedly, O'Reilly's statements were made several weeks ago before Devlin was officially charged. This is just further evidence that the folks at Fox News have a preference for making assumptions based on thinking clouded by unsound ideology rather than digging for facts. As has been said before about many others, Fox News has never been one to let facts get in the way of a good spin. And Bill O'Reilly probably couldn't locate facts in a dictionary.

Lowe's Pulls Advertising from the O'Reilly Factor After Bill O'Reilly Effectively Said that Shawn Hornbeck Enjoyed Being Raped
Takeaways
  • Lowe's removed their ads from The O'Reilly Factor after viewer complaints.
  • Bill O'Reilly made the comment that young kidnap victim Shawn Hornbeck enjoyed his ordeal.
  • Despite this, it still took Lowe's quite a while to become offended themselves.
Did You Know?
Mike Devlin, the man who offered this "enjoyable" escape from the horror of having to abide by parental rules, was recently charged with forcible sodomy.
Comments
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FYI, for all you Vermont Teddy Bear lovers who aren't as depraved as O'Lie-lly. These "pinheads" advertise relentlessly on O'Reilly's radio show, as well as Rush Limpball and Sean Insanity's radio shows. Thank you in advance for using some of O'Lie-lly's medicine by boycotting these morons on this Valentine's Day and beyond.

Posted on 02/12/2007 at 6:02:00 PM

 
Good job, Tim. Believing in "Know thine enemy", I've followed ol' falaffel's idiocy over the last couple years. It's easy and probably correct to assume that he related the fun and the horror in his unique, sick, hateful way. This man is a deluded, mentally ill egotist that can't help spewing anti-social garbage. I am very subjective in my views toward Billo; I hate his freakin guts. Since his show is commentary and not news, he has every right to lose his mind on-air. Therefore, after viewing his show, I reserve the right to lose my lunch at home.

Posted on 02/12/2007 at 11:02:00 AM

 
Funny thing, Billo keeps "jumping the shark" on one issue after another...he throws out one stupid thing after another, and still seems to hold his base..just like Bush...I am firmly convinved that there is about 30% of the country that has no interest in the truth or facts.

Posted on 02/11/2007 at 12:02:00 AM

 
Oh, and another thing. How come all your O'Reilly supporters never exhibit such outrage when your hero accuses those who oppose the Iraq war of hating America despite the fact that they'v never said such a thing. Hypocrites. Anyone who actually watches this living, breathing fecal matter deserves the torture of being told what to think by someone who is almost as clueless as his hero, Dubya.

Posted on 02/08/2007 at 12:02:00 PM

 
And that's assuming that the "element" that O'Reilly was referring to was not going to school. On the other hand, that element could very well have been intended to be taken as Shawn Hornbeck grew to love homosexual sex. O'Reilly doesn't make it clear. But then he never makes things clear.

Posted on 02/08/2007 at 12:02:00 PM

 
"The situation here with this kid is looks to me to be a lot more fun then when he had under his own parents. He didn't have to go to school, He could run around and do what he wanted. I think when it all comes down what's going to happen is there was an element here that this kid liked about his circumstances..." That is O'Reilly's exact quote. Now, what we can extrapolate from that statement? First, that Bill O'Reilly believes that Hornbeck's situation was benevolent enough that whatever the downside, the upside was preferable to going back to live with his parents. In other words, not having to go to school--which is apparently the only advantage Hornbeck had--was more enjoyable than being raped or whatever other torture he had to go was horrific. In other words, Bill O'Reilly effectively said that for Hornbeck, forcible sodomy was acceptable trade-off for not being forced to go to school. And if you disagree with that, then please explain to me how that's a wrong assumption.

Posted on 02/08/2007 at 12:02:00 PM

 
I just contacted Lowe's to thank the company for pulling its advertisements. Lowe's should have listened more closely to O'Reilly's debased rants--and I don't mean just this latest sad speculation--a long time ago.

Posted on 02/08/2007 at 8:02:00 AM

 
There are some truly ignorant comments up in here. I won't waste my time trying to educate them. Suffice it to say that there are myriad psychological reasons why the boy would not leave... and enjoying is not likely one of them. Well done, Timothy.

Posted on 02/08/2007 at 12:02:00 AM

 
I saw the show in question and while he didn't say he liked being raped he did say the qoute from above. If you check out IMDB.com's studio news from 2/5 it has the story about Lowe's pulling the ads. I'm not really into O'Reilly but he did not say anything about him liking the whole rape thing. Doesn't mean he didn't mean it that way though, but he didn't say it.

Posted on 02/07/2007 at 9:02:00 PM

 
From the quote you gave in your article, it sounds like Bill was speculating that not having to go to school and being able to run around and do what ever he wanted was possibly what Shawn enjoyed. I'm not sure how you are making the connection between enjoying not going to school and enjoying being raped. Either way, Bill should have kept his mouth shut and held off on speculation. A good example for us all, actually.

Posted on 02/07/2007 at 9:02:00 PM

 
You're entitled to your opinion of O'Reilly. But Clear Thinker is absolutely correct. O'Reilly said nothing of the kind.

Posted on 02/07/2007 at 8:02:00 PM

 
Did I really read what you wrote in response to being accused of spinning facts from fiction? I read "Timothy Sexton: Ah, gee, did I spin the story in a way that wasn't 100% factual?" And, rather than provide us with the exact quote from O'Reilly your response is "O'Reilly is an asshole and any lovemaking he engages in would technically result in his being sodomized"? I was hoping to see a direct quote of Bill's statement - so as to justify in my own mind why Lowe's would pull their ad. Timothy, I haven't been following this story. If you have the quote, could you post it now?

Posted on 02/07/2007 at 8:02:00 PM

 
There are some subjects on which the media ought to have the decency not to comment and speculate and this is one of them.

Posted on 02/07/2007 at 8:02:00 PM

 
Put Devlin away forever, simple... If the kid was manipulated enough for 4 whole years, being threatened and raped the whole time, then to expect him to suddenly compose himself and tell a true account of events is ridiculous.

Posted on 02/07/2007 at 4:02:00 PM

 
Actually, the most recent reports are that Devlin continually threatened Hornbeck with a gun if he tried to leave and that he raped Hornbeck at least once a month.

Posted on 02/07/2007 at 4:02:00 PM

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