Bill O’Reilly concluded a segment about “far-left violence” on Monday by calling Huffington Post Washington bureau chief Ryan Grim a “far-left zealot” in response to his weekend brawl with Fox News host Jesse Watters.
“Jesse Watters was confronted over the weekend by a far-left zealot who hectored him and provoked a confrontation,” O’Reilly said before explaining the backstory.
Watters addressed the situation himself later in the show, following his “Watters’ World” segment.
“It was really small ball. I was just at this party, trying to enjoy myself. This guy comes up to me with a camera phone. I don’t even know who this guy is. He starts putting it in my face. I was friendly at first. And then he started getting a little obnoxious and you know, things happened. I regret that it happened,” Watters said. “That’s all it is.”
O’Reilly responded, “But you didn’t hit him, did you?”
Watters smirked and said he “never punched him.”
O’Reilly went on to tease Watters about the publicity he’s received since the altercation.
Watters and Grim were caught on video in a verbal altercation that became physical once the camera turned off, following the White House Correspondent’s Dinner after-party on Saturday night.
“The whole thing was insane. This Grim character had no business bothering Jesse Watters about anything,” O’Reilly said.
Watters, who seemed to be in a playful mood early in the video, was enjoying a cigarette when Grim approached him with his cellphone camera, filming. He attempted to “introduce” Watters to Amanda Terkel, who penned a column ripping Watters back in 2009.
The two went back and fourth before Watters grabbed the phone and tossed it. Grim retrieved the phone, approached Watters again and Watters grabbed the phone a second time, this time sticking it in his pocket. You can hear the audio for the next few minutes before it eventually shut off.
Watters was heard taunting Grim to “take it back” and told him to “back off” while Grim was heard complaining, “This guy has my phone.” The fight reportedly broke out at that moment.
Check out Grim’s cell phone video here.