CBS fires Charlie Rose after sexual-misconduct claims surface; PBS drops his show

Show Caption Hide Caption Charlie Rose fired by CBS amid sexual harassment allegations The news comes just one day after a Washington Post article in which several women accused Rose of making unwanted advances. Video provided by Newsy

CBS fired Charlie Rose and PBS dropped his long-running interview show on Tuesday, after an explosive report Monday in the Washington Post detailed years of alleged sexual misconduct against dozens of women.

David Rhodes, president of CBS News, tweeted a statement saying Rose's "termination" is effective immediately. He said the move followed the revelation of "extremely disturbing and intolerable behavior" stemming from Rose's PBS show, Charlie Rose.

Rose was co-host of the network's morning show, CBS This Morning, and also contributed to its long-running and award-winning 60 Minutes.

Despite Rose's journalistic contributions to CBS News, "There is absolutely nothing more important, in this or any organization, than ensuring a safe, professional workplace," Rhodes said in the statement.

NEW: CBS News terminates Charlie Rose following allegations of sexual misconduct. "There is absolutely nothing more important, in this or any organization, than ensuring a safe, professional workplace," says CBS News President David Rhodes. pic.twitter.com/CPgVRjsvXJ — CBS News (@CBSNews) November 21, 2017

"CBS News has reported on extraordinary revelations at other media companies this year and last," Rhodes's statement said. "Our credibility in that reporting requires credibility managing basic standards of behavior. That is why we have taken these actions.

"I’m deeply disappointed and angry that people were victimized — and that even people not connected with these events could see their hard work undermined. If all of us commit to the best behavior and the best work – that is what we can be known for."

Shortly after CBS's announcement, PBS weighed in, announcing it was ending its relationship with Rose and canceling distribution of his show.

"In light of yesterday’s revelations, PBS has terminated its relationship with Charlie Rose and canceled distribution of his programs. PBS expects all the producers we work with to provide a workplace where people feel safe and are treated with dignity and respect," said the statement from Jennifer Rankin Byrne, vice president of corporate communications.

It was a startlingly swift rejection of Rose, a presence on American TV screens for 45 years. It comes as accusations of sexual misconduct by scores of prominent men have deluged multiple industries and led to severe consequences for the accused, even when the accusations have been denied.

Rose, for the most part, did not deny the accusations against him and issued a lengthy apology. It didn't matter.

Tuesday's CBS This Morning began without Rose, who had been suspended Monday from the morning show after eight women accused the longtime TV journalist of sexual misconduct.

The morning's broadcast, led by co-hosts Gayle King and Norah O'Donnell, began with the allegations against Rose, noting that one of the accusers had corroborated Monday's Washington Post and Business Insider stories,

"Charlie does not get a pass here," King stressed, claiming she is "still reeling" from the news.

She noted, "Oprah called me and said, 'Are you okay?' I am not okay. After reading that article in the Post, it was deeply disturbing, troubling and painful for me to read. To the women who have not spoken up, or who are afraid, I'm hoping that now they will take the steps to speak out too, that this will become a moment of truth."

More: Charlie Rose scandal: PBS, CBS suspend journalist after sexual-misconduct allegations

More: List: All of the Hollywood power players accused of sexual assault or harassment

O'Donnell added, "Let me be very clear. There is no excuse for this alleged behavior. It is systematic and pervasive and I've been doing a lot of listening, and I'm going to continue to do that. This, I know, is true: Women cannot achieve equality in the workplace or in society until there is a reckoning and a taking of responsibility ... This will be investigated, this has to end, this behavior is wrong."

Charlie Rose accused of groping, walking around naked Longtime journalist Charlie Rose joins the growing list of high-profile men accused of sexual harassment or assault.

On Monday night, CBS announced they were suspending Rose. PBS, which distributes his interview program Charlie Rose, said it was pulling the show, which Rose produces through his company, Charlie Rose Inc. The accusers, who ranged in age from 21 to 37 at the time of the alleged encounters, were not employed by CBS or PBS.

The Post story included eight women who claimed that Rose, 75, made unwanted sexual advances toward them, including lewd phone calls, walking around naked in their presence, or groping them, while they worked for him or were interviewing for jobs.

On Tuesday, the Post reporters were interviewed by King and O'Donnell on CBS This Morning; one of them, Amy Brittain, said that soon after the Post's story was posted, her inbox was filling up with emails from additional women with "similar, disturbing encounters" with Rose.

Following the Post report, Business Insider published accounts from three additional unnamed women (they could not say if they were the same women cited by the Post).

Kyle Godfrey-Ryan, then 21 and one of Rose’s assistants in the mid-2000s, recalled at least a dozen instances to the Post in which Rose paraded nude in front of her while she worked in one of his New York City homes. He would call her at night or early in the morning to describe his fantasies of her swimming naked at his private waterfront estate in Bellport, N.Y., she said.

“It feels branded into me, the details of it,” Godfrey-Ryan said. She said she told Yvette Vega, Rose’s executive producer since his interview show was created in 1991, about the calls.

“She would just shrug and just say, ‘That’s just Charlie being Charlie.’ ”

In a statement to The Post, Vega said she should have done more to protect the young women on the show. “I should have stood up for them,” said Vega, 52. “I failed. It is crushing. I deeply regret not helping them.”

Rose acknowledged his misdeeds and apologized in a statement to The Post: “It is essential that these women know I hear them and that I deeply apologize for my inappropriate behavior. I am greatly embarrassed. I have behaved insensitively at times, and I accept responsibility for that, though I do not believe that all of these allegations are accurate. I always felt that I was pursuing shared feelings, even though I now realize I was mistaken.

“I have learned a great deal as a result of these events, and I hope others will too. All of us, including me, are coming to a newer and deeper recognition of the pain caused by conduct in the past, and have come to a profound new respect for women and their lives.”

If you have ever experienced or witnessed sexual misconduct while working in the entertainment industry, we’d like to hear from you. Send us a secure tip using the instructions at newstips.usatoday.com.