--- title: Maxine Waters to Bill O'Reilly: 'I Cannot Be Intimidated' description: California Congresswoman Maxine Waters hit back at Fox News host Bill O'Reilly after he said her hair looked like "James Brown wig" canonical: https://time.com/4716111/maxine-waters-bill-oreilly-fox/ author: Joseph Hincks article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-29T02:50:03.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T04:04:59.142Z article:section: Politics og:title: Maxine Waters Tells Bill O'Reilly 'I Cannot Be Intimidated' og:description: "I’m not going to go anywhere. I’m going to stay on the issues," she said og:url: https://time.com/4716111/maxine-waters-bill-oreilly-fox/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc8a393c9fe2c6632/6988c056dcd4a16c3a0750d9/gettyimages-633164564.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Rep. Maxine Waters Holds Press Conference On Russian Ties To Trump Administration og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Maxine Waters Tells Bill O'Reilly 'I Cannot Be Intimidated' twitter:description: "I’m not going to go anywhere. I’m going to stay on the issues," she said twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc8a393c9fe2c6632/6988c056dcd4a16c3a0750d9/gettyimages-633164564.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Maxine Waters to Bill O'Reilly: 'I’m a Strong Black Woman and I Cannot Be Intimidated' by [Joseph Hincks](https://time.com/author/joseph-hincks/) ## Joseph Hincks Mar 29, 2017 2:50 AM UTC  Maxine Waters (D-CA) speaks at a press conference on Capitol Hill Jan. 31, 2017 in Washington, DC. Maxine Waters (D-CA) speaks at a press conference on Capitol Hill Jan. 31, 2017 in Washington, DC.Aaron P. Bernstein—Getty Images by [Joseph Hincks](https://time.com/author/joseph-hincks/) ## Joseph Hincks Mar 29, 2017 2:50 AM UTC California Congresswoman Maxine Waters hit back at Fox News host Bill O’Reilly Tuesday evening after the right-wing commentator said her hair looked like a “James Brown wig” as she delivered a political speech. “I’m a strong black woman and I cannot be intimidated. I cannot be undermined,” Waters [said in an interview](https://twitter.com/allinwithchris/status/846881548360019968) on MSNBC’s All In program with Chris Hayes. “I’d like to say to women everywhere: don’t allow these right-wing talking heads, these dishonorable people to intimidate you or scare you,” she continued. “Be who you are, do what you do, and let us get on with discussing the real issues of this country.” Waters said that when a woman “stands up and speaks truth to power” there will be “attempts to put her down,” before adding, “I am not going to be put down, I am not going anywhere. I am going to stay on the issues.” The long-time Democratic Calif. Representative also questioned the credibility of O’Reilly and Fox News founder [Roger Ailes](http://motto.time.com/4400914/fox-roger-ailes-gretchen-carlson-harassment/) who, she noted, “have been [sued by women](http://fortune.com/2017/01/10/fox-sexual-harassment-settlement-oreilly/)” for sexual harassment. > [](https://twitter.com/allinwithchris/status/846881548360019968) O’Reilly’s comments — which were slammed as racist and sexist on [social media ](https://twitter.com/mmfa/status/846727389971447808)— came during Tuesday morning’s Fox & Friends. The show’s hosts aired a clip of Waters denouncing President Donald Trump in a speech, to which O’Reilly responded: “I didn’t hear a word she said. I was looking at the James Brown wig. If we have a picture, it’s the same one.” In a [statement](http://motto.time.com/4715552/bill-oreilly-maxine-waters-hair-james-brown-wig/) sent to TIME’s _Motto_, O’Reilly apologized for his comments. “As I have said many times, I respect Congresswoman Maxine Waters for being sincere in her beliefs. I said that again today on Fox & Friends calling her ‘old school,’” he said. “Unfortunately, I also made a jest about her hair which was dumb. I apologize.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4716111/maxine-waters-bill-oreilly-fox/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4716111/maxine-waters-bill-oreilly-fox/"},"headline":"Maxine Waters to Bill O'Reilly: 'I’m a Strong Black Woman and I Cannot Be Intimidated'","datePublished":"2017-03-29T02:50:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T04:04:59.142Z","description":"Fox News host Bill O'Reilly had said that her hair looked like a \"James Brown wig\"","url":"https://time.com/4716111/maxine-waters-bill-oreilly-fox/","keywords":["People","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc8a393c9fe2c6632/6988c056dcd4a16c3a0750d9/gettyimages-633164564.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joseph Hincks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joseph-hincks/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc8a393c9fe2c6632/6988c056dcd4a16c3a0750d9/gettyimages-633164564.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Rep. 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