It’s official: Les Moonves is no longer the chairman and CEO of CBS. “As part of the settlement, he and CBS are donating $20 million to one or more organizations that support the #MeToo movement,” Deadline reports.
Accused of sexual harassment and assault, Moonves still isn’t taking accountability. The donation to the #MeToo movement is inconsistent with what he’s saying. “Untrue allegations from decades ago are now being made against me that are not consistent with who I am,” he wrote in a statement. In an earlier statement, he said, “I can only surmise [these accusations] are surfacing now for the first time, decades later, as part of a concerted effort by others to destroy my name, my reputation, and my career.” So much for believing survivors.
Moonves maintains that the interactions were consensual. Check out Ronan Farrow’s latest to see new accounts from women going public with their stories. Exec Phyllis Golden-Gottlieb details how he “grabbed [her] head and he took it all the way down onto his penis, and pushed his penis into [her] mouth” in a parking garage. Assisant Jessica Pallingston’s first day on assignment with Moonves saw him asking if she was single, what her sexual orientation was, requesting a massage, and eventually forcing her head towards his penis. What happened to these women wasn’t “consensual.”
“There is no excuse for this alleged behavior,” “CBS This Morning” anchor Norah O’Donnell said while reporting Moonves’ — her former boss’ — departure. “It is systematic and pervasive in our culture. And this I know is true, to the core of my being: women cannot achieve equality in the workplace or in society until there is a reckoning and a taking of responsibility,” she emphasized.
The Moonves reckoning is still playing out. Six new independent directors have been added to the CBS board, three of whom are women. According to The Hollywood Reporter, “CBS said that the [#MeToo] donation, which will be made immediately, has been deducted from any severance benefits that may be due Moonves following the board’s ongoing independent investigation led by the law firms of Covington & Burling and Debevoise & Plimpton.”
Moonves will reportedly receive no compensation. CBS explained, “Moonves will not receive any severance benefits at this time (other than certain fully accrued and vested compensation and benefits); any payments to be made in the future will depend upon the results of the independent investigation and subsequent Board evaluation.”
But he could collect up to $120 million if the investigation “fails to turn up information that would give the directors reason to fire him,” Deadline reports.
Here’s hoping the investigation results in Moonves receiving exactly zero dollars.
Check out a clip of O’Donnell discussing Moonves below.
