ROTTEN ROSE

Harass scandal explodes with 27 more accusers

NEARLY 30 MORE women have accused Charlie Rose of sexual harassment, including some who worked at CBS, where managers were allegedly told about the news host’s behavior, according to a report.

In addition to the women who came forward months ago before Rose was fired from his “CBS This Morning” gig, another 27 women have accused Rose of inappropriate behavior — citing abuse that went back as far as 1976.

Of the women, 14 were CBS News employees and 13 were from other places of work.

Rose responded to the new allegations, outlined in The Washington Post, with a one-sentence email: “Your story is unfair and inaccurate.”

CBS News issued a statement Wednesday before the story was published.

“Since we terminated Charlie Rose, we’ve worked to strengthen existing systems to ensure a safe environment where everyone can do their best work,” CBS News said.

“Some of the actions we have taken have been reported publicly, some have not. We offer employees discretion and fairness, and we take swift action when we learn of unacceptable behavior.”

CBS News alleges that it had no human resources complaints about Rose, and that it could not “corroborate or confirm” many of the situations described in the new report.

Eight women accused the TV personality of inappropriate behavior in November while working with him at PBS, where he hosted the “Charlie Rose” program.

After The Post published its initial story, Rose’s PBS program was canceled and he was fired from CBS News.

One of the earliest accusations that came to light was an alleged 1976 incident involving a former research assistant, Joana Matthias, now 63, who worked with him at NBC News’ Washington bureau.

Matthias said Rose exposed his penis and touched her breasts.

Women at “60 Minutes,” where Rose also worked, said they feared reporting the harassment because they felt the network was protecting its male powerhouses.

CBS News Chairman Jeff Fager and CBS News President David Rhodes both said they had no knowledge of any allegations until the story broke in November.

However, The Post reported that a manager was told of Rose’s conduct after an incident in 1986, when Rose allegedly badgered a news clerk about how often she had sex and if she enjoyed it.

That year, seven women sued CBS for fostering an “offensive and hostile” environment for female employees. Rose was not mentioned in the suit, though he was the Washington co-anchor at the time.