Story highlights Joey Jackson writes that people are curious about what took Fox so long to deal with O'Reilly's troubled history

One key question: Why did they pay him tens of millions to leave the network?

Joey Jackson is a criminal defense attorney and a legal analyst for CNN and HLN. The views expressed here are solely his.

(CNN) Yet another seismic shift has occurred at Fox News, as conservative talk show host Bill O'Reilly is officially out amid a sea of sexual harassment allegations. And people are asking some important questions, like: Why did it take so long for the company to act on allegations of harassment that had been developing for years? And why did Fox pay O'Reilly tens of millions of dollars to leave?

This follows Roger Ailes' exit this past July, with allegations that sound eerily similar. It is said that one reaps what they sow. And given the seeds that were apparently planted by both Ailes and O'Reilly, it was just a matter of time before their positions became untenable -- and a new day dawned. A day when hard-working and professional woman would be respected, honored and valued for their talents -- and not objectified and ogled over their looks.

But what on earth took so long? This appears to have been much more than a few isolated incidents, but rather an ingrained culture at the network.

Roger Ailes was allegedly a serial sexual harasser who reportedly engaged in these shenanigans for years, before justice finally caught up with him -- and he was forced out. (Ailes and O'Reilly have each denied allegations of sexual harassment.)

And then, with full knowledge of Bill O'Reilly's history, and notwithstanding a string of allegations against him involving multiple women, which settled for millions of dollars, the Fox anchor was recently rewarded with a new contract worth a reported $25 million per year.

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