CBS Terminates Charlie Rose Over Sexual Misconduct Accusations

“There is absolutely nothing more important, in this or any organization, than ensuring a safe, professional workplace,” says CBS News President David Rhodes

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CBS News has terminated its relationship Charlie Rose on Tuesday, one day after the Washington Post reported multiple accusations of sexual misconduct against the longtime news show host.

The network on Monday first suspended Rose, who co-anchored “CBS This Morning” and appeared as an occasional correspondent on the primetime staple “60 Minutes.”

“Despite Charlie’s important journalistic contribution to our news division, there is absolutely nothing more important, in this or any organization, than ensuring a safe, professional workplace,” CBS News President David Rhodes wrote in a statement. “I’m deeply disappointed and angry that people were victimized.”

Rose did not appear on “CBS This Morning” on Tuesday and was denounced by his two co-hosts Gayle King and Norah O’Donnell.

“I really am still reeling. I got an hour and 42 minutes of sleep last night,” said an exacerbated-looking King. “I am not OK. After reading that article in the [Washington] Post, it was deeply disturbing, troubling and painful for me to read.”

In addition to his dismissal from CBS, spokespeople from PBS and Bloomberg told TheWrap Monday that they would suspend distribution of the “Charlie Rose Show.”

Rose became the latest media icon to face the heat for sexual misconduct. The Washington Post published numerous accounts of unwanted groping and at least one instance where Rose exposed himself to another woman. The cases, which span from the 1990s to 2011, generally involved women employed at his eponymous program or aspiring to work there. Some of the charges included groping and at least one case of exposing himself.

Though Rose has denied any “wrongdoing,” he issued a broad apology via Twitter on Monday night.

“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,” he said. “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.”


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