CBS News fires Charlie Rose following sex allegations
Network president says action taken to maintain credibility.
CBS News fired morning show host Charlie Rose on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after several women who worked with him on his PBS interview show alleged a pattern of sexual misconduct, including groping and walking naked in front of them.
The network’s news president, David Rhodes, said there is nothing more important than assuring a safe, professional workplace.
To date, there have been no accusations of bad behavior by Rose from people who work at CBS News. He’s been a co-host of “CBS This Morning” since 2012 and a contributor to “60 Minutes.” The allegations, first outlined in The Washington Post, are from people who worked with him or prospective employees at his nightly PBS show, which has been suspended by that network.
Rhodes noted that CBS News has reported on sexual misconduct revelations at other media companies for the past two years. “Our credibility in that reporting requires credibility managing basic standards of behavior,” he wrote. “That is why we have taken these actions.”
There’s been a flood of misconduct stories involving prominent men since The New York Times reported on Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein this fall.
Several women have accused Rose of touching them on the breasts, buttocks or thigh, emerging naked from a shower when they were working at his residence and, in one case, calling a 21-year-old staffer to tell his fantasies of seeing her swim in the nude.