Rose’s misconduct was widespread at CBS, and managers were warned
Incidents of sexual misconduct by Charlie Rose were far more numerous than previously known, according to a new investigation by The Washington Post, which also found three occasions over a period of 30 years in which CBS managers were warned of his conduct toward women at the network.
An additional 27 women — 14 CBS News employees and 13 who worked with him elsewhere — said Rose sexually harassed them. Concerns about Rose’s behavior were flagged to managers at the network as early as 1986 and as recently as April 2017, when Rose was co-anchor of CBS This Morning, according to multiple people with firsthand knowledge of the conversations.
Rose’s response to the new allegations was delivered in a one-sentence email: “Your story is unfair and inaccurate.”
The new allegations follow an earlier Post report on Rose’s behavior at his namesake PBS program, in which eight women accused the TV star of making lewd phone calls, walking around naked in their presence, or groping their breasts, buttocks or genital areas. Rose issued an apology. His PBS show was canceled and he was fired from CBS News.
The Post’s investigation is based on interviews over a fivemonth period with 107 current and former CBS News employees as well as two dozen others who worked with Rose at other television programs.
Many of those interviewed for this story spoke on the condition of anonymity because they feared retaliation. The Post corroborated specific accounts with witnesses or people in whom they confided.
The new allegations against Rose date to 1976, when, according to a former research assistant, he exposed his penis and touched her breasts in the NBC News Washington bureau where they worked.
“This other personality would come through, and the groping would happen,” said the former research assistant, Joana Matthias, now 63. An NBC News spokeswoman declined to comment.
At CBS News, where in addition to the morning show Rose worked as a contributing correspondent for 60 Minutes, some women who said they were harassed said they feared reporting the violations to executives, whom they viewed as prioritizing the careers of male stars.
“I had been there long enough to know that it was just the way things went,” said Sophie Gayter, now 27, who worked at 60 Minutes in 2013 when, she said, Rose groped her buttocks as they walked down an office hallway to a recording studio. “People said what they wanted to you, people did what they wanted to you.”
CBS News, which has said it had no human resources complaints about Rose, issued a statement Wednesday in response to a request for comment.
“Since we terminated Charlie Rose, we’ve worked to strengthen existing systems to ensure a safe environment where everyone can do their best work,” the statement 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.
“That said, we cannot corroborate or confirm many of the situations described.”