Gayle King Refuses to Abandon Charlie Rose Despite 27 New Accusers: ‘I Still Consider Him a Friend’ (Video)

“I don’t know what more we can do to Charlie Rose, except a public flogging,” says CBS morning host

Gayle King offered a defense of sorts for Charlie Rose on Thursday morning, saying that she still considers him a friend and questions the need for the Washington Post’s new report detailing 27 additional accounts of sexual misconduct against the disgraced newsman.

“When the story first broke, I said Charlie was my friend. I still consider him a friend. I know that’s probably not the politically correct thing to say this moment, but I don’t believe in abandoning friends when they’re down,” said King on the set of “CBS This Morning.”

“I don’t know what more we can do to Charlie Rose, except a public flogging. He’s gone. He’s not coming back to CBS News,” she said. “You see these allegations, you hear the stories and it just makes you sick all over again.”

King, however, was clear to draw a line, saying that Rose’s actions were unacceptable and that it was important to make sure that all women’s voices were heard.

“You can’t ignore what these women are saying. That’s also part of my anguish here,” she said.  “To know that women were hurt and that they’re saying the things that they’re saying.”

On Twitter, King’s co-host Norah O’Donnell released her own statement on the matter.

“What I’ve said previously still stands true, and bears repeating now: women will only achieve equality in the workplace and society when there is a full reckoning and behaviors change. There is no excuse for the alleged actions of my former co-host,” she said.

On Thursday, the Washington Post published a followup piece to its original exposé on Rose. The piece was the result of more than 100 interviews and traced accusations stretching back to 1976.

The report included accounts of Rose groping female colleagues and other forms of workplace sexual harassment. In one instance from 2003, Rose pressured an underage intern, Corrina Collins, into drinking so much wine that she became drunk and threw up. He later groped her and asked her to “ride him.”

The piece also revealed several instances throughout Rose’s career where superiors brushed off complaints against him.

In a statement provided to TheWrap, CBS said they were doing their best to rebuild trust in the network.

“Since we terminated Charlie Rose, we’ve worked to strengthen existing systems to ensure a safe environment where everyone can do their best work. Some of the actions we have taken have been reported publicly, some have not. We offer employees discretion and fairness, and we take swift action when we learn of unacceptable behavior,” said the company.

“That said, we cannot corroborate or confirm many of the situations described. We continue to look for ways to improve our workplace and this period of reflection and action has been important to all of us. We are not done with this process.”

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