CBS will donate $20 million to organizations that support the #MeToo movement and equality for women in the workplace, the amount of which will be deducted from any severance payments that may be due to Moonves.
- September 10, 2018
AceShowbiz - Les Moonves has officially stepped down as the CEO of CBS. The resignation was announced on Sunday night, September 9, just hours after a new report was published in The New Yorker detailing sexual harassment allegations by six additional women against Moonves.
CBS announced that its board of directors and its parent company National Amusements reached a settlement with Moonves on Sunday evening. As part of the settlement, CBS will "donate $20 million to one or more organizations that support the #MeToo movement and equality for women in the workplace" and the amount will be "deducted from any severance benefits that may be due Moonves following the Board's ongoing independent investigation."
CBS' Chief Operating Officer Joseph Ianniello will now serve as the company's interim CEO and President.
Ronan Farrow first reported in July on The New Yorker about Moonves' alleged sexual harassment at workplace. He allegedly forcibly kissed and propositioned four women during business meetings and two other women said Moonves "physically intimidated them or threatened to derail their careers" when they resisted.
At the time, Moonves admitted that he had made "some women uncomfortable," but denied allegations that he made threats to ruin their careers. CBS then launched an investigation into the allegations, while still allowing Moonves to keep his position.
On Sunday, Farrow published a new report detailing new allegations against Moonves by six additional women. The alleged victims claimed "Moonves forced them to perform oral sex on him," "exposed himself to them without their consent," and "used physical violence and intimidation against them" in incidents which took place "between the nineteen-eighties and the early aughts."
Responding to the new allegations, Moonves said in a statement that he acknowledged three of the encounters, but claimed that they were consensual. "The appalling accusations in this article are untrue," he said. "What is true is that I had consensual relations with three of the women some 25 years ago before I came to CBS. And I have never used my position to hinder the advancement or careers of women."
He added, "I can only surmise they are surfacing now for the first time, decades later, as part of a concerted effort by others to destroy my name, my reputation, and my career. Anyone who knows me knows that the person described in this article is not me."
