Megyn Kelly went for the jugular on her eponymous hour of 'Today' on Monday, tearing down a Fox News executive and Bill O'Reilly as they fight back against a New York Times story that revealed the disgraced anchor paid former legal analyst Lis Wiehl $32million to settle a sexual harassment suit.

'Fox News was not exactly a friendly environment for harassment victims who wanted to report, in my experience,' said Kelly, who spent over a decade at the network before making the move to NBC.

'However, O'Reilly's suggestion that no one complained about his behavior is false. I know because I complained.'

That bombshell immediately blew a giant hole in the narrative that O'Reilly and Fox News have been ceaselessly defending since March, when a New York Times story revealed that five women had settled harassment suits against O'Reilly.

Kelly later shared the letter, which ended with her saying: 'Perhaps it’s his own history of harassment of women which has, as you both know, resulted in payouts to more than one woman, including recently, that blinded him to the folly of saying anything other than "I am just so sorry for the women of this company who never should have had to go through that."'

That was followed by Megyn writing: 'Whatever the reason, you've got a hell of a guy hosting the 8pm hour.'

The show ended just before O'Reilly was set to appear on Glenn Beck's radio program, where he decided to fight back by reading two thank you notes Megyn sent him over the years.

One was sent after O'Reilly attended a baby shower for one of her children, and the other came when he plugged a book by Kelly's husband Douglas Brunt on his show.

When asked if O'Reilly's 'CBS This Morning 'appearance played a role in Megyn's decision to leave Fox News, her rep responded by stating: 'She’s been pretty forthcoming all along about why she left Fox, why she joined NBC.'

Megyn has said her public feud with President Trump, her disinterest in discussing politics and her desire to be home for her children's bedtime played a role in her decision.

She has never made any mention of O'Reilly or his attack on her less than two months before she announced her move to NBC.

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Bombshell today: Megyn Kelly (above) revealed that she filed a complaint against Bill O'Reilly with the heads of Fox News last November when he criticized her on CBS This Morning

Bombs away: She pointed this out to prove O'Reilly was lying when he said that no female had ever complained to legal or HR about his behavior at Fox News

To Bill with care: A 2012 note from Megyn to O'Reilly after he plugged her husband Douglas Brunt's book 'Ghosts of Manhattan' (above)

Billy and the kid: A 2009 note thanked O'Reilly for attending Megyn's baby shower before the birth of her first child, Edward (above)

'I never had any problem with Megyn Kelly,' O'Reilly said to Beck at one point, less than an hour after Megyn referenced the clip of him thrashing her on CBS.

'I don’t know why Megyn Kelly is doing what she’s doing. I don’t know why.'

He also called her actions 'incomprehensible', and stated: 'I have dramatically helped her in her career'

He even listed out the problems he had with her claims, and why he believed there were holes in the statements she made on Monday.

'First of all, she didn't file a complaint. Not that I know of, it was never brought to our attention that Megyn Kelly ever did anything,' O'Reilly said to Beck.

'So I'd like to see it, because I don't believe that's true at all.'

His second point was that Megyn did not mention the anonymous phone line, which O'Reilly said allowed employees to call in and report individuals who were harassing them in the workplace and previously claimed never once got a complaint about him over the years.

O'Reilly's third point were the thank you notes, which were written after a 2009 baby shower and a 2012 episode of 'The O'Reilly Factor.'

Megyn called O'Reilly a 'true friend and mentor' after he spoke about Brunt's book 'Ghosts of Manhattan,' and a 'dear friend' when he got her baby body suits before the arrival of her oldest child Edward.

O'Reilly also read a letter from Gretchen Carlson which said: 'Bill, thank you for being the calm in the sea. Thank you for being my friend, thank you for supporting me.

He then argued that the two women, and a media conspiracy by CNN and Media Matters, all came together to help the Times write its 'hit piece.'

Carlson responded to O'Reilly posting her note by tweeting: 'So what. Still paid $32m.'

O'Reilly also called the Times report from over the weekend inaccurate, but said legal documents forced him to keep quiet about the details.

'It's very frustrating for me being accused of everything under the sun and being linked with Harvey Weinstein,' said O'Reilly.

'This is dishonest in the extreme and it's frustrating, but unless I want another seven or eight years of litigation that puts my children in the "kill zone," I have to maintain my discipline.'

He later added: 'I can tell you this: In 20 plus years at the Fox News Channel I resolved three things and I only did that to keep my children safe.'

Then, to close things out, he made a plea.

'Any fair-minded person can start to formulate a picture here. 43 years, 12 companies, no complaints. And now there is the statement, the affidavit, and these letters,' said O'Reilly.

'All I can hope for is that the American people will see that this is an attack on me for political purposes. It has done enormous damage to me and my family.'

Megyn stated that she was speaking out to dispute O'Reilly's claim that no woman had ever complained about the former anchor's behavior to either human resources or the legal department.

In the wake of the report this weekend, the public is now aware of the fact that O'Reilly paid out at least $47million to settle four of the six known settlements filed against him by women at Fox News.

This did not stop Fox News from resigning O'Reilly to a four-year contract valued at $100million earlier this year, and later paying him $25million following his swift exit from the company in the wake of the first 'Times' story.

The incident Megyn refers to played out for all to see, unlike the incidents that happened between O'Reilly and the women he has settled with over the years.

'It was November of 2016, the day my memoir was released. In it, I included a chapter on Ailes and the sexual harassment scandal at Fox News. Something the Murdochs knew I was doing and, to their credit, approved,' said Kelly, who wrote of the sexual harassment she endured at the hands of the late-disgraced CEO of the network.

Silenced: Megyn later shared the letter she wrote to presidents Bill Shine and Jack Abernethy pointing out the harm his comments were doing to women (above)

Kill bill: Carlson responded to O'Reilly posting her note (above) by tweeting: 'So what. Still paid $32m.'

'O’Reilly happened to be on CBS News that morning. They asked him about my book and about Ailes, who by this time had been forced out in disgrace.'

He said that day that he had not had a chance to read the book because he was not given an early copy, while also stating: 'Look, I'm trying to stay out of any of that stuff. I wish her well. She's a very smart woman. It's a tough book environment. We'll see if people respond to it.'

He was then asked if Megyn might appear on his show to which he replied: 'I don't know. We'll see if she's going to be on the show or not. I want to be that candid. I'm not that interested in this.'

That is when anchor Norah O'Donnell, a longtime friend of O'Reilly's, cut in and asked: 'You're not interested in sexual harassment?'

A clearly annoyed and angry O'Reilly replied to this by saying: 'I'm not interested in basically litigating something that is finished that makes my network look bad. Okay?

'I'm not interested in making my network look bad at all. That doesn't interest me one bit. '

O'Donnell, who looked a bit stunned when O'Reilly responded, then cut in and asked: 'Is that what she's doing?'

O'Reilly answered the question by saying: 'I don't know. But I'm not going to even bother with it. I've got a country that's in a transition, political transition. All right. I've got a kids book that I want millions of kids to look at. That's what I'm interested in. Not making my network look bad.'

Shione on: Megyn said she lodged her complaint with then presidents Jack Abernethy (center) and Bill Shine (right), who has since been ousted by the company

Smiling through the pain: That is the same statement Fox News pushed out earlier this year after it was revealed O'Reilly paid five settlements, three of which totaled $15million (a recipient of one settlement, Juliet Huddy, above)

This very public victim-shaming did not sit well with Megyn, who played a big role in reshaping the culture at Fox News by encouraging other women to report harassment and assault they had endured in the wake of the Ailes scandal.

'I did something that day I’d never done before. I wrote an email to the co-presidents of Fox News, Bill Shine and Jack Abernethy. An email I have never made public, but am sharing now because I think it speaks volumes about powerful men, and the roadblocks one can face in taking them on,' said Kelly.

'I wrote, in part: "Perhaps he didn’t realize the kind of message his criticism sends to young women across this country about how men continue to view the issue of speaking out about sexual harassment. Perhaps he didn’t realize that his exact attitude of shaming women into shutting the hell up about harassment on grounds that 'it will disgrace the company' is in part how Fox News got into the decade-long Ailes mess to begin with.'"

She went on to say that she was told by Shine that O'Reilly would be dealt with, explaining: 'And by that I mean he was permitted with management’s advance notice and blessing to go on the air and attack the company’s harassment victims yet again.'

Shine was fired from his post earlier this year while Abernethy still heads up the company.

It was not just O'Reilly who earned Megyn's scorn either, and the NBC host next took aim at the woman who controls almost every major Fox News narrative.

'At Fox News, the media relations chief Irena Briganti is known for her vindictiveness. To this day, she pushes negative articles on certain Ailes accuser, like the one you’re looking at now,' said Kelly, who welcomed Juliet Huddy on the program Monday.

'It gives me no pleasure to report such news about my former employer which has absolutely made some reforms since all of this went down. But this must stop. The abuse of women, the shaming of them, the threatening, the retaliation. The silencing of them after-the-fact. It has to stop.'

Later in the show, Huddy's lawyer Douglas Wigdor made an astonishing claim about Briganti when Kelly asked him about the way accusers and victims can be shamed after filing lawsuits against powerful men like O'Reilly.

'Irena Briganti has been doing this for years. She's still there. They have a big playbook, but that's a central part of it,' explained Wigdor.

'She has outed victims who, like Scottie Hughes, who accused Charles Payne of rape. Outed her to a tabloid ['National Enquirer'].

Hughes later sued Fox News and that lawsuit is still playing out in court.

Meanwhile, Fox News PR staff asked that all emailed concerning this matter be sent to 21st Century Fox, who did not respond to a request for comment.

Bring 'em out: Megyn later took aim at media relations chief Irena Briganti (above), who she accused of putting negative stories in the press about those who make claims against Fox

Mic drop: 'She has outed victims who, like Scottie Hughes, who accused Charles Payne of rape. Outed her to a tabloid ['National Enquirer'],' said guest and Huddy's lawyer Douglas Wigdor (left)

Huddy, like the other women who received settlements from O'Reilly, had little to say and even less that she could say due to the NDA she had to sign with her agreement.

She said multiple times that she was on the verge of tears, and noted how terrified she was to be speaking out in public.

Huddy appeared most emotional after Megyn's forceful intro opening the show.

'It is shocking and it’s upsetting to many of us. I spent this weekend on the phone nonstop, talking to many women at Fox News and otherwise, who are deeply disturbed over the latest New York Times report,' said Kelly at the top of the program.

'On Saturday, The Times revealed yet another settlement paid to dispose of a sexual harassment case against O’Reilly. Not a huge shock there, we already knew of five, thanks to a Times report in April.'

She continued: 'But this latest one was for $32million, reportedly paid directly by O’Reilly to Fox News legal analyst Lis Wiehl. Right before Fox News renewed his contract. $32million. That is not a nuisance value settlement. That is a jaw-dropping figure. OJ Simpson was ordered to pay the Goldman and Brown families $33.5million for the murders of Ron and Nicole.'

Megyn then asked the question many are now wondering, and will likely never know due to the legally binding terms of the settlement which Wiehl was forced to sign in order to get her four-year payout.

'What on earth would justify that amount? What awfulness went on? Wiehl reportedly alleging she was subjected to non-consensual sex by O’Reilly, which he denies,' said Megyn.

She later closed out the segment, which took up the first half of the show, by asking a few more questions.

'A lot of lawyers question whether it is reasonable for the company to be saying it didn't know that O'Reilly would have paid 32 million bucks,' said Megyn.

'And the next question is, if they didn't know, why didn't they know? Why didn't they find out before re-signing him?'

In a statement over the weekend, 21st Century Fox said they were aware of the lawsuit, but made no effort to look into the allegations, which is a shocking claim given O'Reilly's past legal dealings.

'When the company renewed Bill O'Reilly's contract in February, it knew that a sexual harassment lawsuit had been threatened against him by Lis Wiehl, but was informed by Mr. O'Reilly that he had settled the matter personally, on financial terms that he and Ms. Wiehl had agreed were confidential and not disclosed to the company,' a rep for 21st Century Fox told DailyMail.com.