Bill O'Reilly slams Jennifer Aniston for no-daddy-needed remarks [poll]

There are subtler ways to tell us you're Team Jolie, Bill O'Reilly.

The cable-news talking head has lashed out at Jennifer Aniston for remarks the actress made about women parenting without fathers.

Aniston said in a recent interview in support of her new artificial insemination comedy "The Switch" that the rules have changed for modern women when it comes to family.

"Women are realizing more and more that you don't have to settle, they don't have to fiddle with a man to have that child," Aniston said.

"They are realizing if it's that time in their life and they want this part, they can do it with or without that."

O'Reilly, if you hadn't guessed, begged to differ.

"She's throwing a message out to 12-year-olds and 13-year-olds that hey, you don't need a guy, you don't need a dad. That's destructive to our society," O'Reilly said on his Fox News program.

Our Jen? Tribute-to-Barbra Streisand Jen? Wrecking society? We'll leave this one up to you, dear readers. Vote in our poll, and tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.

-- Matt Donnelly

Photos: Jennifer Aniston, left, and Bill O'Reilly. Credits: Frantzesco Kangaris / AFP / Getty Images, left; Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times, right.

We've got the latest on Jennifer Aniston and, naturally, scandal in general

Comments

[He'sanidiot]

O'reilly, considering we have teenage girls making pregnancy pacts well before 'Jennifer Aniston said anything about women now having options', you can pretty much bet she's not the bad influence on teens since majority of them seem to be getting the picture without a word from her. And of course we can always listen to Fox News which seems to have developed a habit of taking what people say out of context, I think I'll get upset about something else besides what Jennifer Aniston says.

[kenny kikuchi]

I just gotta say, Bill and Glenn as well as Rush should all three, be buried in the same box. Spewing all this crap about everybody that they don't see eye to eye with. And now he's going after Jennifer Aniston. Jennifer is right, women don't need men, period.

These guys just love to hear the sound of their own voices. I can't figure out who's the worst of the bunch. It's like they all hatched from the same egg, thus explaining why I think they need to be buried in the same box.

Jennifer is probably laughing at this clown. Bill, get over yourself already. You're getting paid a lot of money to run your mouth. You should be thankful that some people actually listen to you....lololol....I tried guy, I really tried. But you are so delusional and your mind is so narrow I could thread it through the eye of the needle on my sewing machine...lololol...(K)

[Matthew Robillard]

Bill O'Reilly ... ! Now truly, does anyone really care what this media leach has to say? He's a fake, a fraud. He stares at himself in the mirror every morning and laughs, his gullible army of the dumb listening to and believing his every statement, no matter how moronic or ridiculous. He's the personification of maladroit, an off-key foghorn blowing and blowing, heard by few, hated by many. The OJ Simpson or George W. Bush of talkshow hosts, a life that can only end badly, and not soon enough.

[ally]

I would take a sperm donor over O'Reilly. His comment just reinforces some men are not worth it.

[Karen]

Bill O is a male chauvinist pig. They said the same think about Candice Bergen when she had a child without a husband how many years ago. He is as backward as old what's his name vice president candidate at the time. It's time for Bill O to retire to the old folks home.

[Karen]

This is me again. The name of the TV show that Candice Bergen starred in was Murphy Brown. The dummy was Dan Quayle. Bill O is how many years behind? Just so you know Bill O and I are the same age but I think of him as the same age as my dad. My dad is 80.

[andi]

Bill O'Reilly needs to quit pretending as if he really cares about
what young girls think or don't think! Please! Besides we women
are at a place in time, when we decide what we want or don't want.
Bill have you ever slammed Jolie for having children out of wedlock?
No, I didn't think so! whatever!!

[j]

Yes she is right see the stats most men end up being nothing, but sperm donors. They abondon their children walk away without looking back. Way to go Jen.

[Tom]

Let me begin by saying that I am a dad. I am a father to a 10 year old boy that I love more than life itself. I am also divorced from my son’s mom and have 50/50 custody. As I heard about what Jennifer Aniston had said and read some of the responses, I have to be honest, I was enraged. It seemed like nearly everyone, to one degree or other had nothing positive to say about men as fathers. It seemed as though most people view us as not necessary. After backing away from the computer for a while, I was able to put it in perspective. I understand what Jennifer Aniston was saying… that if there was a child who didn’t have any parents, that a woman could adopt that child and raise him or her without the need of a man by her side. I also believe that a man could say and do the same thing. To some that may sound funny, but I truly believe that a man, too, could raise a child without needing a woman. However, in reading some of the responses to Bill O’Reilly’s criticism of Ms. Aniston, it seems like war has been declared on men as fathers. Some women saying things like, “I don’t need any man around to help me raise my child” or “Men seem to walk away from their children”. Wow. First off, I would never walk away from my child. I realize that many women were just going off on some of the things that O’Reilly said, and although I don’t agree with it all, there were a couple of points that I do agree with rather strongly. Bill wrote…
Dads bring a psychology to children that in this society is under emphasized. Men get hosed all day long in the parental arena,"
"Any man who leaves their children is not a man. Let's make that perfectly clear. But the fathers that do try hard are under appreciated and diminished by people like Jennifer Aniston,"
As a father, I have always felt to one degree or other, that I am trying to catch up to my son’s mom or prove myself. Ultimately, when the day is done, I know that when I kiss my son good night and tell him and love him, and he replies in kind, that I’ve done all the proving I need to do. However, the feeling remains that as a dad, I don’t matter as much as the mom… I am viewed by most as a wallet. I am a credit card or a routing number. Pay your support (which by the way, I don’t mind doing) or you’re not doing your duty as a father. Nevermind the fact that I take my son to church, nevermind the fact that I stay active with my son in cub scouts, nevermind the fact that I watch after my son as carefully as anyone could. I am a father… so I don’t matter.
I realize that this is not how everyone views us, but when a comment like Ms. Aniston’s is made, no matter how it was intended, it lessens fathers even more. What happens when a woman decides, “I don’t need to stay with my baby’s father… I can do it on my own!”? Then she leaves, takes the child and leaves the father with the reality of court ordered child support and whatever visitation the court deems appropriate. Now as you read what I just said, you may think, “The man obviously did something to deserve it.” Well, perhaps not. Maybe the relationship wasn’t working, but that’s a two-way street. The point is, that more and more… men are finding themselves fighting for their rights as fathers, whereas women, for the most part, don’t seem to have to lift a finger to earn their rights as mothers.
I wonder what will happen to those single mothers who don’t need men. I wonder what will happen as those single mothers raise their child – let’s assume it’s a boy. I wonder what will happen when that boy grows to be a man himself – let’s assume he was well raised and knows how to treat people well. I wonder what will happen when that man meets a woman – perhaps weds, perhaps not – and then starts a family of his own. I wonder what the single mom who raised him will do or what she will think as the woman her son has been with decides she doesn’t need him to raise her kids, and she leaves. I wonder what the single mom – who hoped to be a grandma – will do or think then. What will she think when the woman tells her that she can’t be in her grandchild’s life? What will she say to her son as he fights for his rights as a father? I don’t know. Perhaps she will say to him, “Well son. Women don’t need you to be a father.” That’s what she would have to say, wouldn’t it? Maybe this sounds too far fetched. I don’t think so.
As a father, I would ask that women treat the father’s of their children with respect. Of course, the same should be returned to them. Any man who doesn’t return the respect, or doesn’t want to be a father doesn’t deserve what I am asking. Again, though, the same can be said back to women.
Parents are important.
When both are around, mother or father, both need to be a part of the child’s life.
Shame on anyone who says, “I can do it on my own”. After all, perhaps the child may wish something different.

[Davan S. Mani]

Jennifer is telling the truth.

[Laura H]

It's not really about Jennifer Aniston or Bill O'Reilly but rather about what's best for children. Of course many women manage to raise children well without husbands or involved fathers in their kids' lives, but is that usually good for those kids? It doesn't take a massive study and statistics to know that kids TEND to do best in a healthy, two-parent home, but those studies do exist. (Google it.) Single parents can do a good job. But what's best for the kids should always be uppermost in these discussions. Too often, it's just about selfish adults. Making babies is too easy. Raising children is very hard. Self-centeredness is the first thing we have to lose as parents.

[joe]

how can any woman make a child without a man? Women cannot produce sperm which is necessary to make a child. Like it or not, women are stuck with men in one way or another.

[Vandi]

As a single mother of one daughter, I have been fortunate enough to have experienced the awe-inspiring love of having a child. I have never married, I am 41 years old. I tell all of my single friends approaching their 40's not to wait for "Mr. Right"....they simply can't take the chance that he shows up AFTER they are capable of bearing children. It is a hard cold fact that OUR generation, not Bill O'Reilly's generation, is contaminated with men who are non-committal and not interested in starting a family unit they are in their late 40's, early 50's.......and they are then searching out women that are in their young 30's.
I do not want my friends nor any woman that desires to have a child to be denied the love and the life of being a parent.
Easy for you to say, Bill.....your eggs don't dry up!!
Go Mom's, we can choose our destiny.

[Celestine]

Hello?! Jennifer Aniston is not encouraging women to forget the father figure. She's saying its possible to have a family without him though, and it is. It may not be traditional but that doesn't make it impossible.
I applaud her for coming out and saying it. She's commending all those single-parent families where mothers are doing just fine. I think her strong stand on this will open more minds up. And I am very grateful for that.
Bill O'Reilly, if you had a daughter - would you rather she settle with a man who doesn't deserve or respect her the way she ought to be? Or would you rather she take her own life into her hands and be a strong, independent woman?

[Lorraine]

Though I agree with Jennifer's premise, I am haunted by Tom's post. There are truly two unique sides to an issue as important as this.

[PeteMoylan]

O'Reilly should focus on father's rights. All I ever see him do is demonize divorced fathers the same way hateful feminists do. I can't think of any pundit that is pro-father's rights.

[meli_1]

Tom,

I agree with you. You are right on the money. My boyfriend had joint physical and legal custody of his 10 yr old son for the last 5 years, until his ex-wife decided to move 1 hour away from us to live with her new 'baby daddy'. What ensued was 16 months of stress and anxiety on all of our parts (especially the child), not to mention thousands of dollars spent on legal fees.

Luckily, we were able to afford a very skilled attorney. More fortuitously, we had a wise judge who was NOTof the thinking that 'a child belongs with a mother - no matter what'. The judge took the time to read the child custody evaluation report, and made a decision that was truly in the best interests of the child (we received primary custody during school year, mother has primary for the 2 month summer vacation - basically 60/30 custody).

Guess what-the child has been in our primary custody for over 1 year and is thriving!

Unfortunately, not all fathers find themselves with the ability to hire a skilled attorney, nor having a wise judge appointed to their case.

Thank you for taking the time to write such an insightful commentary.

[DADZRITES]

Jennifer Anniston and her ilk are addle-brained morons that don't care about America and should just leave and go to Europe to tout their nonsense. Maybe, we should just say we don't need either parent and let the government take over raising our children.

Bill O'Reilly is correct. Anniston is irresponsible and immature. Her comments are anathema to our culture and the fabric of our society. Anniston's comments could be construed as treasonous and seditious as it calls for the breakdown of our society, to the glee of our enemies. She's just another Obama Kool-Aid drinker.

[STEVE T.]

YOU MADE HIM NOW YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO LIVE WITH HIM.

[Worldwide Wil]

I have no problem with Jennifer Anniston wanting to raise a child. And no, you don’t need a father around to be a good Mom. But “Mom” can never be a father, no matter how great she is. As someone who works with youth, I see the devastation that fatherlessness has had on our youth on a daily basis. If you are a single Mom and your kids are fine, or you were raised by a single Mom and you came out fine, that's great!. But please remember that your experience is not the experience of millions of others and the ugly statistics on the effects of fatherlessness on youth speak for themselves. And the number of single mothers living in poverty is simply a national tragedy (Ms. Anniston doesn’t have to worry about that!). If Ms. Anniston wants to have a child, then she should do so…but in trying to justify her decision, she should have kept her socio-cultural analysis of the family to herself. She doesn’t have to interact with poverty-stricken fatherless kids on a daily basis….I do.

[Cher Z]

Hey remember when Bill made those obscene phone calls to that poor reporter?

Yeah....that was fun.

[Ralph G.]

Hollywood has been out to destroy the fabric of American life for decades. Hollywood and many of it's denizens are damaged people, and their misery loves our company. Drugs, dysfunction and a lack of morals and ethics is Hollywood's stock and trade. Unfortunately there are enough voyeurs out there to keep it profitable,..at least so far. Like a horrible car accident, that some just can't turn away from, the fans need that morbid vicarious thrill.

[vince]

It depends on the individual. No need to knock either one-and I am no fan of O'Reilly.

[Matthew Robillard]

"his gullible army of the dumb" have appeared. As dumb as ever.

[Justine]

I am a single mother who was artificially inseminated and can not believe how ignorant some people are (Bill). I am so in love with my child and know that it was the best thing I have ever done in my entire almost 40 year old life. My child is my whole life and I am an amazing mother (I am told by everyone). My only regrets are that I did not do it earlier in my life and that I can't do it again (financially not responsible to do so). I am a teacher and we don't make all that much here in Canada. So before you judge (Bill) walk a mile my friend.