CBS to investigate allegations of sexual harassment by CEO Leslie Moonves

The charges surfaced in a New Yorker article released Friday. He reported that six women who had professional relations with Mr. Moonves between the 1980s and the late 2000s claimed that he was sexually harassing them.

An actress and writer,

Illeana Douglas,

alleged that Mr. Moonves had sexually assaulted him at a meeting held in 1997 at his office, had kept her on a couch and kissed her violently. The article also cited charges that Mr. Moonves had made progress in the business community, including unwanted touching.

The article portrays an image of systemic harassment problems at CBS and a culture up to the top that tolerates it.

The company in a statement said that it takes "every report of misconduct very seriously." 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 treat its tens of thousands of employees with dignity and respect. "CBS shares fell more than 6% on Friday.

million. Moonves said in a statement that he acknowledged "that there have been times decades ago when I was able to make some women uncomfortable by making advances. These are errors, and I regret them very much, but I have always understood and respected – and respected the principle – that "no" means "no" and that I have never abused my position to harm or hobble someone's career. "

In a statement Friday night, Ms. Douglas said," A real change will occur when I can walk through the doors of CBS and resume the creative relationship and of work that was so tragically interrupted in 1997. "

A group of directors of CAS stated that after the end of the investigation," Quickly review the findings and take appropriate action. "

The survey comes at a sensitive time for CBS, which is engaged in a legal battle to National Amusements Inc., a holding company that has nearly 80% of the votes in CBS and

Viacom
Inc.

President of National Amusements

Shari Redstone

pushed them to merge despite resistance from Mr. Moonves and his management team.

CBS said in a statement that "the timing of this report comes in the middle of the company's very public legal dispute."

Ms Redstone, who is vice president of CBS, said in a statement that "the malicious insinuation that Ms. Redstone is somehow behind Mr. Moonves' allegations of inappropriate personal behavior or reports of 39, today is false and selfish Mrs. Redstone hopes that the investigation into these allegations will be thorough, open and transparent. "

The Directors of CAS have decided to issue a dividend that would reduce the voting power of the National Amusements to less than 20%, but National Amusements took the action by blocking the measure by amending the company's bylaws to require the approval of a qualified majority of directors in such situations. The fight is taking place in a Delaware court and should be tried this fall.

Rumors that Mr. Moonves was about to become the latest media figure shot down by allegations of sexual misconduct began circulating last winter. Ms. Redstone began raising rumors with CBS Board members in December, but received no indication that any action was taken, according to people familiar with the issue. # 39; s case. "It shows whether the council was providing adequate control," said a person who knew his thoughts, echoing the accusations that she made during the court proceedings before the court.

The CBS Board of Directors seeks to hire a law firm. lead the probe, another person familiar with the situation said.

The story of Friday's New Yorker, written by

Ronan Farrow,

also accuses the director of CBS News

Jeff Fager

inappropriate behavior and turning a blind eye to the harassment charges within the division. Mr. Fager oversees the news magazine "60 Minutes" and was a former president of CBS News.

Specifically, the New Yorker stated that Mr. Fager had the reputation of "becoming really manic," according to a former producer of "60 Minutes" quoted in history. The story also said that Mr. Fager was protecting other men who had been accused of misconduct

. Fager denied the allegations to the New Yorker. When asked to comment, CBS News referred to Mr. Fager's denials in history.

CBS said Friday that it had previously retained the lawyer

Betsy Plevan

Proskauer Rose LLP to conduct an independent investigation into the alleged misconduct at CBS News. He said the investigation was continuing and included investigations into allegations in New York history.

Christine Peters,

a producer who described at the New Yorker a meeting in which Mr. Moonves put his hand on his skirt, said that she decided to come to the aid of other professional women. CBS told the New Yorker that Mr. Moonves denies any inappropriate contact or behavior during the meeting.

"I meant, look, it's not just actresses, it's women in the business world who have to deal with that," said Peters in an interview

. , who has been CEO since 2006, has been praised for his view in the entertainment industry and on Wall Street. During his tenure, CBS has generally been the most-watched broadcaster in the industry, even though 39, he has fought against the erosion of viewers like most TV channels.In recent years, he has reduced the size of the company to focus more on the production and distribution of content, eliminating the radio units and billboards from the CBS channel

.Monves began his show business career as an actor before moving on to production. 39, is raised to the top of Warner Bros. Television; The shows developed on his shows included "Friends" and "ER".

CBS hired Mr. Moonves in 1995 to bypass his troubled prime-time lineup and he rose through the ranks. Mr. Moonves is known to be very involved in programming and casting decisions on the network and his Pay TV channel Showtime.

million. Moonves was married to the personality of CBS on-air

Julie Chen

since 2004.

Moonves is the second high profile CBS personality to face charges of improper conduct.

Charlie Rose

was fired as a presenter of "CBS This Morning" last year, after articles in Washington Post articles reported inappropriate advances to women working for him.

million. Rose said on Twitter after the Post reports that he behaved "insensibly at times", but also said that he did not believe that all the allegations were accurate. A lawyer for Mr. Rose called the charges in the meritless lawsuit.

Write to Joe Flint at [email protected] and Keach Hagey at [email protected]