CBS paid millions to settle assault allegation against ‘60 Minutes’ creator
Show tries to shed past of sexual misconduct
CBS is still being haunted by the past of “60 Minutes.”
The company has been paying a former female CBS News employee millions of dollars over the last 20 years to settle claims that she was sexually assaulted by “60 Minutes” creator Don Hewitt, according to an investigative report.
The incident happened in the late 1990s when Hewitt was still executive producer of the storied newsmagazine, according to a person familiar with the report who was not authorized to comment. The woman is said to have received more than $5 million since reaching a settlement with the company’s lawyers — an agreement that has stretched well past Hewitt’s death in 2009.
A CBS News spokesperson declined to comment on the settlement, which was revealed in a New York Times report Thursday about the ongoing investigation into alleged sexual harassment and misconduct in the company and its former chief executive Leslie Moonves, who was fired on Sept. 9.
Two high powered law firms have been conducting the inquiry since August and will report its findings — including the payout to Hewitt’s accuser — to the CBS board next week. An earlier leak of their findings said they have concluded that CBS board members were justified to fire Moonves for cause — denying him any severance pay.
The latest leak focused on the investigation into alleged misconduct at “60 Minutes,” which Hewitt helped create in 1968 and oversaw until 2004, when Jeff Fager took over the reins of the top-rated program. Fager was under investigation for allegations of inappropriate workplace behavior when he was fired on Sept. 12.
He was ousted after sending a threatening text message to CBS News correspondent Jericka Duncan, who was working on a piece following up #MeToorelated reporting in the New Yorker, which included allegations against him.
In the draft of the lawyers’ report leaked to the New York Times, investigators said the firing was justified. They cited several instances where Fager behaved inappropriately with colleagues, including one in which he allegedly groped a female CBS employee. The report also alleged he tried to give another employee an open mouth kiss at a corporate event. Additionally, the report said Fager failed to respond to employee complaints about bullying by two producers who worked under him.
The draft document said “60 Minutes” had become a more hospitable workplace for women in recent years. More women had been promoted to senior producing roles and Fager had been supportive of them.
Nonetheless, investigators concluded Fager or other CBS News executives currently at the network were not aware of the extent of the inappropriate conduct by former “CBS This Morning” co-anchor Charlie Rose. Rose was fired in 2017 following numerous allegations that he sexually harassed female employees who worked on his PBS talk show.
Fager could not be reached for comment. He has previously denied allegations of inappropriate workplace conduct.
Fager has yet to be replaced at “60 Minutes,” as the division has waited for the results of the investigation before filling the role. Bill Owens, the program’s executive editor, has been overseeing the operation since Fager’s departure and is a candidate for the position. Susan Zirinsky, the executive producer of the newsmagazine “48 Hours” is the other major contender for the post.