Eric Bolling
Former Fox News host Eric Bolling announced his son, Eric Chase, was found dead. Rumors swirled he committed suicide, though a cause of death was not immediately known. Getty Images

Former Fox News host Eric Bolling was furious after Bill O'Reilly said in an interview Monday that Eric Bolling Jr. died because of the sexual harassment allegations against his father that surfaced in August. Eric Sr. slammed O'Reilly saying that his remarks "beyond inappropriate."

"Just as Bill O'Reilly had wanted to shield his children from the allegations against him, I hope he will honor my request and avoid any future mentions of my son," Eric Sr. said in a statement to the New York Times, adding that his departure from the network was not connected to his son's death.

"Unlike others who left Fox News amid public allegations and extensive investigations, I parted ways with Fox News in an amicable way and any reference to a firing is flatly wrong," Eric Sr. said.

O'Reilly was talking to the Times' reporters Emily Steel and Michael Schmidt, pushing back against a recent investigation by the newspaper which found that O'Reilly had settled a sexual-harassment claim in January for a record $32 million. O'Reilly insisted that the Times' "figures are wrong" and that the paper was "making assumptions." He later mentioned that similar allegations put forward by the paper against Bolling Sr. resulted in his son's death.

"I urge you to think about what you put in your newspaper," O'Reilly said. "Eric Bolling's son is dead. He's dead because of allegations made - in my opinion, and I know this to be true - against Mr. Bolling."

However, he later apologized to Eric Sr. for his remark about his dead son.

"Apologies to Eric Bolling and prayers for him and his family. The message I tried to send was that allegations harm kids. Nothing more," O'Reilly wrote on Twitter.

Eric Jr. was found dead in his bed at his apartment in Boulder, Colorado, on Sept. 8. Soon after his death, reports claimed that Eric Jr. was under "emotional torture" due to his father's sexting scandal that led to his exit from Fox News. He died hours after his father left the network after being suspended in August over claims of sending pictures of male genitals to female co-workers.

After O'Reilly's remarks, Eric Sr. said that the coroner has declared his death was an accident.

Authorities investigating Eric Jr.'s death said last month that while an autopsy was performed, toxicology tests could take up to four weeks. Those results have yet to be released.

There have been rumors that Eric Jr.'s death was due to some form of overdose, but the cause of death is yet to be confirmed.

Last month Eric Jr.'s close friend Wayne Carter, 21, spoke to Daily Mail about the teenager's illicit substance consumption at a party the night before his death. But his friend also said that Eric Jr. wasn't someone who would take his own life.

"I'll put it like this — he was a partier. I don't think he would have intentionally done it [killed himself]. But I definitely think he upped it once when he heard that news and that's what caused his demise," Carter told the Daily Mail, referring to Eric Sr.'s sexting scandal.

Recounting Eric Jr.'s behavior after the alleged sexting scandal came to light, Carter said the University of Colorado Boulder student would keep most of his emotions within himself.