O'Reilly Explains Story Behind Infamous 'We'll Do It Live' Moment
Former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly opened up about an infamous outtake from three decades ago that leaked and went viral in the early days of YouTube and has since become a cultural phenomenon.
In an interview with Tucker Carlson released on Wednesday evening, O’Reilly spoke with his successor at Fox about topics ranging from the state of the media to the crisis at the southern border to being axed by Fox in 2017.
But Carlson couldn’t help but ask O’Reilly about the tirade that was never meant to be seen or heard outside of the “Inside Edition” studio.
“I just can’t resist, and I don’t mean this as a criticism because I actually love it, but the most famous video on the internet is you. Shot off-camera in a previous job before Fox,” Carlson said.
O’Reilly knew immediately where the question was headed.
“What am I doing, going live?” he asked Carlson with a smile.
Carlson then aired the clip of O’Reilly screaming, “We’ll do it live! F*** it. Do it live!”
The exchange can be seen at the 11:21 mark of the video below:
WARNING: The following clip contains language that some viewers may find offensive.
Ep. 26 The Bill O’Reilly Interview pic.twitter.com/yHabD7W9NO
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) September 28, 2023
O’Reilly said he has been recognized from the clip by people from as far away as Iceland and Japan.
As far as what ignited his anger that day, O’Reilly was blunt about technical issues behind the scenes of “Inside Edition” when they tried to tape the end of a program.
“They couldn’t get it taped. So finally, Irish guy, I went, ‘Hey!’” he said. “That’s exactly what happened.”
The pair moved on from the video after that and on to other topics.
O’Reilly was the host of “Inside Edition” from 1989 to 1995. The following year, he debuted “The O’Reilly Factor” on Fox News, hosting the show until 2017 when he was fired by the network.
Carlson was tapped to take over the 8 p.m. ET slot after O’Reilly’s termination, and he held it until this April when he too was fired.
Both men were ratings juggernauts for Fox during their tenures at the network.
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