The man at the top of CBS and who many believed has brought the network to its number one status out of the big four networks, is out! Les Moonves, who served as chairman and CEO of CBS, leaves amid allegations of sexual harassment.
The end for Moonves had been predicted for days, but negotiations took on a new urgency and intensity after The New Yorker published a follow-on report by Ronan Farrow detailing new allegations by six women spanning the 1980s to the 2000s. These fresh accounts of sexual misconduct include claims that Moonves forced women to perform oral sex on him and that he exposed himself to them without their consent. There were claims from several women some time ago and many were waiting for CBS to act but this recent story pushed them to make a decision and do it with haste as the #MeToo movement puts more of a public eye on corporations and their ability to act when allegations such as this break.
The exit of Moonves ends a 24 year run for the chief executive at the network. As part of the settlement, he and CBS are donating $20 million to one or more organizations that support the #MeToo movement. What’s unclear is if Moonves is getting some kind of settlement for jumping ship. Many insiders say he was negotiating an $100 million exit and it looks like the network is trying to be mum on that because they don’t want it to appear as if he’s profiting from what he’s being accused of. The network has said that the charitable donations have been deducted from any severance benefits Moonves would receive, pending the outcome of the ongoing investigation into alleged misconduct.
This is a big win for NAI chief, Shari Redstone. CBS agreed to drop its lawsuit against Redstone and the family’s holding company, National Amusements. The CBS board unanimously rescinded the dividend it previously approved which sought to dilute the Redstone family’s control over the company. National Amusements will appoint six new independent directors to the CBS board, including former Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons. The other newcomers are: Candace Beinecke, an attorney the firm Hughes Hubbard & Reed who is known for her expertise in mergers and acquisitions, Barbara Byrne, retired vice chairman of Barclays investment bank, Brian Goldner, chairman and chief executive of Hasbro, Susan Schuman, CEO of the consulting firm SyPartners, which works with businesses undergoing cultural transformations, and Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two Interactive Software and a former Fox and Columbia Pictures executive.
The Talk co-host, Julie Chen, who is married to Moonves and is also the host of CBS’ Big Brother, has stood by her husband during these allegations and was noticeably absent from the season 9 premiere of The Talk yesterday. Co-host Sharon Osbourne made reference to her absence but didn’t seem to hold back in terms of her opinion of Moonves:
“As you all know, Julie’s husband is in the news, and she’s taking off time to be with her family. It’s very embarrassing and upsetting to have to talk about her husband but now, after seven more women have come out with these stories that are so similar, the pattern is so similar, that for me, he’s not been convicted of any crime but obviously the man has a problem. Mr. Moonves can step down, and Mr. Moonves is an extremely wealthy man, and good luck to him. He’s worked very hard and made this network No. 1.”
Co-host Sara Gilbert also chimed in on the matter:
“I agree; Julie is our friend. … This is our ninth season, and we’ve been together since the beginning. I love her and support her always. However, this is an important time in our culture, and just because this hits close to home doesn’t change the story.”
When this story initially broke in late July, Julie Chen released the following statement that showed support for her husband:
“I have known my husband, Leslie Moonves, since the late ‘90s, and I have been married to him for almost 14 years. Leslie is a good man and a loving father, devoted husband and inspiring corporate leader. He has always been a kind, decent and moral human being. I fully support my husband.”
Leslie Moonves has acknowledged some of the allegations and insisted that at least three of them were consensual and that he never stalled anyone’s career for rebuffing his advances. On Sunday evening, Moonves said this about leaving: “Effective immediately I will no longer be Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CBS. I am deeply saddened to be leaving the company. I wish nothing but the best for the organization, the newly comprised board of directors and all of its employees.”
