Fans of ousted Fox News host Bill O'Reilly were reeling Thursday in the wake of the veteran host's abrupt exit.
"O'Reilly spoke for the common person," Mac Sullivan, 60, of North Carolina told NBC News.
"He did not speak for those in power, but for those not in power. [He spoke] from a conservative viewpoint that many working class, common folk people have."
Yet, "somebody else will step in," he told NBC News."Maybe it won't be the same following, but I tend to think it'll still be strong just because there needs to be another voice in the marketplace."
The ouster came after dozens of advertisers fled the show as the scandal swirled, but O'Reilly was an a pre-planned vacation when the axe fell, leaving some fans puzzled.
"For him to get dismissed like that, I would think there would have to be more detailed evidence," Rich Gibbons, 63, of New Jersey told NBC News.
"Who knows though, maybe there's something behind the scenes that you don't know or I don't know.... I would think the organization would want to back him until something is proven."
"What's only fair to his audience is that [Fox News] explain why they let him go, without giving all the sordid details," he added. "At least let him come on [the show] and give his side of it. I still feel empty because I don't know why he is gone. You always want to know."
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