A CBS boss says harassment claims ‘need to be taken seriously’

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — CBS’s TV entertainment chief went on the defensive Sunday in response to explosive allegations of sexual harassment that have roiled the company and threatened to end the reign of his longtime boss, Les Moonves.

Kelly Kahl expressed support for the investigation into sexual harassment allegations against Mr. Moonves, chief executive and chairman of CBS Corp. But Mr. Kahl also said there was no systemic problem with harassment in the entertainment division he has run for the past year, describing it as a “collaborative, inclusive, safe workplace.”

“Leslie has been an excellent boss and a mentor for a long time,” Mr. Kahl said Sunday at the Television Critics Association press tour in Beverly Hills. “He put me in this job. At the same time, we must respect the voices that come forward. All allegations need to be and are being taken seriously.”

CBS is keeping Mr. Moonves in place during the investigation, but the network said Jeff Fager, the executive producer of its prestigious newsmagazine program, “60 Minutes,” is delaying his return from vacation until the investigation into sexual misconduct wraps up.

Mr. Kahl is the first CBS executive to speak in a public forum about the matter since the company was shaken by a New Yorker magazine report that said its chief executive allegedly harassed six women, in several cases forcibly kissing them in incidents that mostly date back to the 1980s and ‘90s. The story also said management tolerated harassment and misbehavior at “60 Minutes.”

The report led the CBS board of directors to hire two law firms to investigate the allegations.