6 women tell New Yorker that CBS chief Les Moonves sexually harasses them



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The New Yorker released an investigation that details allegations of sexual misconduct, intimidation and retaliation against CBS President and CEO, The Moonves.

Six women told New York writer Ronan Farrow that they were sexually harassing them. CNN has not confirmed the claims independently.

One of these women, actor Illeana Douglas, told The New Yorker that Moonves had called her in her office in 1997 while she was working on a pilot for CBS and asked l & # 39; embrace. 19659002] The magazine reports that Douglas tried to put the emphasis on work, but that Moonves caught him.

"In a millisecond, he has an arm on me, reaching me," said Douglas to the magazine, who reported that Moonves "was kissing violently" she then "lifted her skirt and started to push her against her . "

Douglas tells the magazine that she refused his advances. She recalled that Moonves later rebuked her during the rehearsals of the project, and at one point called her home and told her that she would "never work at this network again" , according to the article.

The New Yorker article quotes incidents, including one of the writer Janet Jones. The magazine said Jones alleged that she was "pushing Moonves away from her after kissing her at a work meeting."

The article also reports that 30 current and former employees said that other inappropriate behaviors were occurring elsewhere in the company. In her New Yorker address, Moonves said: "During my stay at CBS, we promoted a culture of respect and opportunity for all employees, and have always found success in elevating women to senior management positions. management in our company.I recognize that there are dozens of years ago, I may have made some women uncomfortable by making advances.These are mistakes, and I regret it very much, but I have always understood and respected – and respected the principle – that 'no' means 'no', and I have never abused my position to harm or hinder the career of "It's a time when we all focus on how we help improve our society, and we at CBS are committed to being part of the solution."

According to the magazine, CBS said in a statement that Moonves recognizes trying to but he denies any qualification of "agr sexual assault, "intimidation or retaliation", including the reprimand on the set and personally dismissed the pilot project.

The New Yorker article also quotes CBS saying that "We do not believe, however, that the image of our company created in The New Yorker represents a larger organization that does its best to deal with its tens of thousands of employees with dignity and respect.We see a vigorous speech in our country about equality, inclusion and workplace safety, and CBS is committed to to be part of the solution to these important issues, "the company said in its statement.

CNN obtained the statements from Moonves and CBS.

The article also includes allegations that executive producer of "60 Minutes" Jeff Fager made unwanted advances. She quotes six former employees who told the New Yorker that Fager, "inebriated at company parties, would touch employees in a way that would put them at ease."

Fager denied the magazine's allegations, saying in a misdirection that our culture could be falsely defined by a few people with an ax to grind that use a large movement as a weapon to avenge themselves, and not by the hundreds of women and men who have prospered, both personally and professionally, at 60 Minutes. "

He added in the statement," A majority of our senior executives are women, all of whom have risen through the ranks and are now the managers of our program, half of our producers and the majority of our associate producers are It's a hard place to do well and the promotions are deserved and not based on gender. "

CNN got Fager's statement.

Farrow, the journalist who wrote the article, recently gained prominence after detailing the charges of rape and misconduct against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. (Weinstein, who was fired from his business and was criminally charged for sexual assault, denied the allegations.)

CBS's independent board of directors said Friday in a statement issued several hours before publication New Yorker's article board will review the claims. When this investigation is completed, the office will "take appropriate action," he says.

"All allegations of personal misconduct must be taken seriously," the statement said.

Farrow discussed his reports on Friday night on CNN Erin Burnett OutFront. "

" You are dealing both with an individual who is at the top of his or her art and who many, many others depend on for their livelihood, "said Farrow," And also a society that is at the top of our culture. "

Although Farrow's article was only released on Friday night, news of its impending release caused shockwaves across the market.The CBS stock began to fall after that The Hollywood Reporter has reported that the article was forthcoming.It has closed more than 6%.

Moonves has directed CBS for more than a decade, and has become the most watched broadcast network on television for 15 of the past 16 years

CBS's Upstonts annual presentation in May, during which network executives launched advertisements on the upcoming television season, the public applauded Moonves. 19659002] Corporate dominance was not always certain When owner Sumner Redstone, the media mogul, separated CBS from his other Viacom company in 2006, Viacom was to become the most powerful player On the contrary, CBS has surpassed his brother and sister at a fast pace

Related: The CBS crisis ends as Moonves and Redstone struggle for the future of the network

Moonves was very well rewarded for the success of his company. He received $ 68.4 million in 2017 for his role as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors. According to an Equilar review of the S & P 500 companies, he was one of the highest paid CEOs in the country last year.

"Moonves provides strong and consistent leadership, particularly given the extent of its institutional knowledge of the Company's business," said CBS in its annual proxy report. He gave a nod to his "stellar reputation" among investors

The company was however struck by scandal and controversy in recent months

CBS fired Charlie Rose last November after the Washington Post has identified eight women. In another survey released this spring, The Post reported that there were still more allegations than those previously described, and that at least some of them had been reported to management. from CBS News.

Rose admitted that some of his actions were "inappropriate", although he denied any other allegations. CBS News told The Post that she had no complaints about Rose about human resources, but that she has changed her policies since the allegations against Rose were made public.

For the past few months, Moonves has been fighting a fierce battle on CBS. Tensions between Moonves and Sumner Redstone's daughter, Shari, subsided after she urged CBS to consider merging with Viacom, reversing the dissolution of the company more than a decade ago.

CBS resisted an agreement, and later Shari Redstone sued to dilute its controlling stake in the company

This case is still pending, and it is not clear if the allegations against Moonves l & rsquo; # 39; affect. In his statement Friday, the CBS board of directors said that it would continue to create value for our shareholders.

In a statement released Friday afternoon, before the publication of the New Yorker article, a representative of Shari Redstone said: The malicious insinuation that Ms. Redstone is somehow at the # 39 Originally, allegations of Mr. Moonves' inappropriate personal behavior or reports of today are false and selfish. Ms. Redstone hopes that the investigation into these allegations will be thorough, open and transparent. "

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