It’s been more than a month since six women accused CBS CEO Leslie Moonves of sexual misconduct in a New Yorker story. But unlike many of the men accused since the start of the #MeToo movement last year, Moonves has held on to his job so far.
What happens next for Moonves depends on a CBS investigation being conducted by two outside law firms. But as our list below shows, losing his job is neither a certainty nor an impossibility. The #MeToo movement that began with the October 2017 accusations against Harvey Weinstein has toppled some of the most powerful men in America, from Charlie Rose to Sen. Al Franken. Others have held on despite serious accusations against them.
Here is a list of a few of the most high-profile men who have been accused of sexual misconduct over the past 10 months, followed by more detail about each case.
Lost All Jobs
Louis C.K.
Five women accused comedian Louis C.K. of exposing himself and masturbating in front of them more than a decade ago.
“These stories are true,” C.K. said in response. “The power I had over these women is that they admired me. And I wielded that power irresponsibly.”
HBO, Netflix, and FX severed their ties With C.K. The release of his then-upcoming film, “I Love You, Daddy,” was canceled. In January, TBS announced it would not go forward with C.K.’s animated comedy “The Cops.”
Al Franken
Former Minnesota Sen. Al Franken was accused by eight women of unwanted kissing and groping. Franken issued several statements apologizing in some instances and saying that he did not recall specific details surrounding other accusations. He resigned from the U.S. Senate on Jan. 2.
Matt Lauer
Several women accused “Today” co-host Matt Lauer of sexual misconduct. They included three women who said he made sexual advances, a woman who said she had a consensual sexual relationship with Matt Lauer, which she described as an “abuse of power” and another woman who said she passed out as Lauer assaulted her.
Soon after the first accusations came to light, Lauer issued a statement expressing “sorrow” and “regret.” In April, Lauer issued another statement saying: “Any allegations or reports of coercive, aggressive or abusive actions on my part, at any time, are absolutely false.”
Lauer was fired from NBC in November.
Brett Ratner
Six women accused director Brett Ranter of sexual misconduct, including harassment, groping and forced oral sex in a Nov. 1, 2017 Los Angeles Times story. Four more women accused him off sexual misconduct in a subsequent L.A. Times story, which said two women accused Ratner of working with Russell Simmons to harass or assault them. Variety reported last November that Beverly Hills police had investigated Ratner and music exec Russell Simmons in 2001 after a woman filed a report alleging that she was a victim of sexual battery. The district attorney’s office declined to file criminal charges due to “insufficient evidence.”
Ratner denied the accusations. He later sued one woman, accusing her of libeling him by accusing him of rape.
Ratner was dropped by Warner Bros., Playboy announced it was putting his Hugh Hefner biopic on hold and liquor giant Diageo discontinued Ratner’s Hilhaven Lodge whiskey.
Charlie Rose
Thirty-five women accused longtime journalist Charlie Rose of sexual misconduct, including obscene phone calls, groping and exposing himself. Rose has apologized for any “inappropriate behavior” but denied the accuracy of the allegations. On Nov. 21, CBS News, PBS and Bloomberg cut ties with Rose.
Russell Simmons
More than a dozen women have accused music mogul Russell Simmons of sexual misconduct, including rape. Simmons has denied the accusations. In November, Simmons stepped down from his companies. Soon after, HBO announced that it was removing his name from “all Def Comedy” shows. In January, Oprah Winfrey said she was deleting Simmons from her new self-help book.
Kevin Spacey
More than 30 men accused Kevin Spacey of sexual of sexual misconduct, including actor Anthony Rapp, who said Spacey made a sexual advance on him when he was 14.
Spacey said he did not “remember the encounter,” and came out as gay. A representative later said Spacey was taking “the time necessary to seek evaluation and treatment.”
In November, Netflix fired Spacey from his hit series “House of Cards.” The streaming service also scrapped his Gore Vidal biopic. Spacey was also cut from Ridley Scott’s “All the Money in the World,” and replaced with Christopher Plummer. In February, Spacey’s foundation in the U.K. shut down.
Spacey’s film “Billionaire Boys Club,” which was shot before the accusations came to light, had a digital and VOD rollout on July 17.
James Toback
Nearly 400 women have accused director James Toback of sexual misconduct, including actresses Selma Blair, Rachel McAdams and Julianne Moore. Toback denied the allegations. He was dropped by his agent and has not released any work since the Los Angeles Times first reported on the accusations in October.
Harvey Weinstein
Harvey Weinstein has been accused by more than more than 80 women of sexual misconduct. In May, he was indicted on charges of rape in the first and third degrees as well as criminal sexual act in the first degree. In July, Weinstein he was indicted on an additional count of criminal sexual act in the first degree and two counts of predatory sexual assault.
Weinstein has denied “any allegations of non-consensual sex.”
After the first accusations against him were reported by The New York Times, he was fired by the board of The Weinstein Company. Apple axed TWC’s series about Elvis Presley; Amazon canceled an in-development series from David O. Russell that was set to star Robert De Niro and Julianne Moore. Weinstein was later ejected from Motion Picture Academy and other major industry guilds.
Steve Wynn
Dozens of women accused casino mogul Steve Wynn of sexual misconduct. The accusations included sexual harassment, exposing himself and one woman who accused him of rape, which prompted a $7.5 million settlement payment from Wynn. Wynn has denied any wrongdoing.
Wynn resigned from his post as finance chairman for the Republican National Committee and as chairman and chief executive of his company, Wynn Resorts.
Lost Some Jobs
Morgan Freeman
Eight women came forward to CNN to accuse actor Morgan Freeman of sexual harassment, including the co-writer of the article, who described a pattern of inappropriate comments and unwanted touching. Freeman apologized, but denied accusations of sexual misconduct.
Visa, which featured Freeman’s voice in its commercials, pulled his ads. In May, TransLink announced it was dropping the idea of using Freeman’s voice for some announcements. He was later replaced with Seth Rogen.
Morgan continues to appear in films, including Disney’s “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms,” slated for release in November.
Chris Hardwick
On June 14, Chris Hardwick’s ex-girlfriend, actress Chloe Dykstra, said she suffered sexual and emotional abuse from an unnamed ex-boyfriend in a Medium post. Hardwick denied the allegations. He was suspended from AMC, NBC, and the website Nerdist pending an investigation. During his suspension, AMC announced Hardwick would “step aside” from moderating planned AMC and BBC America panels at Comic-Con International in San Diego in July.
On July 25, AMC announced Hardwick was cleared to return to work. NBC and Nerdist also reinstated Hardwick.
Garrison Keillor
On Nov. 29, Garrison Keillor, the creator and former host of “A Prairie Home Companion,” was fired by Minnesota Public Radio following sexual misconduct accusations. Keillor later said he had been fired for putting his hand “on a woman’s bare back.” But an investigation by MPR News, published in January, said Keillor had engaged in “years-long pattern of behavior that left several women who worked for Keillor feeling mistreated, sexualized or belittled.”
Keillor denied the accusations.
MPR announced in November it was firing Keillor and would no longer distribute his show “The Writer’s Almanac.” The company also said it was rebranding his former show, “A Prairie Home Companion” under a new name, “Live From Here.” In January, the University of Minnesota removed a plaque bearing his name from its Scholars Walk. In April, Keillor wrote that he was “ready to start up both shows again.” Keillor continues to writes a column for the Union Leader newspaper in New Hampshire.
R. Kelly
Parents of three women said that Kelly was keeping them from their daughters, according to BuzzFeed, which used the word “cult” in quotation marks to describe their living conditions. Another woman later told BuzzFeed that Kelly had sexually abused her. Kelly, who was found not guilty on child pornography charges in 2008, has denied all of the most recent accusations.
A #MuteRKelly hashtag led to the cancellation of several of his concerts. After banning Kelly from its official playlists in May under its “Hate Content and Hateful Conduct policy,” Spotify began streaming his music again in June, following intense backlash from users. Apple Music and Pandora also pulled Kelly’s music from their editorial playlists but his music is still available on all these platforms.
Kelly, who has been touring with singer Charlie Wilson, also dismissed the accusations last month in a song entitled “I Admit.” According to Spin, he is scheduled to perform at the Hulu Theatre at New York City’s Madison Square Garden next month.
John Lasseter
The Hollywood Reporter said “multiple” Pixar insiders accused John Lasseter, then the most powerful man in animation, of unwanted touching, kissing, and comments about people’s physical attributes. Lasseter apologized for what he called “missteps.”
After a six-month leave of absence, Lasseter announced he was leaving Disney at the end of 2018.
Jeremy Piven
Eight women have accused actor Jeremy Piven of sexual misconduct, including assault.
Piven denied the accusations, saying he had passed a lie detector test. “As evidenced by the lie detector test I took and passed, I have never forced myself on anyone, nor have I ever exposed myself or restrained anyone against their will,” he told BuzzFeed.
“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” killed a pre-recorded Piven interview. CBS announced it was pulling the plug on Piven’s show, “Wisdom of the Crowd,” citing poor ratings. In July, Piven told Fox 11’s “Good Day L.A.” he was trying his hand at comedy.
Tavis Smiley
In December, talk show host Tavis Smiley was suspended by PBS following a sexual misconduct investigation which concluded that Smiley had engaged in sexual relationships with multiple subordinates and created an abusive and threatening environment.
Smiley admitted to past relationships but denied any misconduct. But Public Radio International ended its relationship with Smiley, as did Mills Entertainment, which had been producing his theatrical retelling of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; the production was suspended.
In January, Smiley announced a new show, “The Upside with Tavis Smiley,” on The Word Network. He later went on a five-city tour discussing relationships between men and women in the workplace. He is also working on an upcoming book, “Leading by Listening.”
In February, Smiley filed a lawsuit accusing PBS of acting in “a racially hostile manner” over the years. PBS countersued.
Jeffrey Tambor
Three women accused actor Jeffrey Tambor of sexual misconduct. Tabor apologized for “mean” and “difficult” behavior, but denied the accusations.
In February, Tambor was fired from his hit Amazon show “Transparent.” That same month, he was removed from a promotional poster for the movie, “The Death of Stalin.” But Tambor remained in the film itself. In June, he was replaced as voice talent in Paramount’s upcoming animated offering “Wonder Park.”
In May, Tambor returned to Netflix’s “Arrested Development” for its fifth season.
Kept All Jobs
John Bailey
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said it received three claims of sexual harassment against its president, John Bailey. No details about the nature of the claims has been released.
Bailey denied the accusations. “That did not happen,” he wrote in a memo to staff obtained by TheWrap.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced in March that an internal investigation had cleared Bailey.
David Copperfield
In January, model Brittney Lewis accused magician David Copperfield of drugging and raping her in 1988, when she was 17.
Copperfield did not address the rape accusations directly. Instead, he tweeted support for the #MeToo movement and asked people not to “rush to judgment.” He continues to perform his magic show at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.
James Franco
Five women accused James Franco of subjecting them to sexually exploitative or inappropriate behavior.
Franco’s attorney denied Paley’s allegations, calling them “not accurate.”
The actor returns next month for the second season of HBO’s ’70s-set series “The Deuce.”
Nev Schulman
In May, a woman who appeared in his MTV series “Catfish” accused the show’s host, Nev Schulman, of pressuring her into having sex with him. Schulman called the accusations “false.”
After initially halting production on his show “Catfish,” MTV announced it would resume production after an investigation found the claims “not credible and without merit.”
Ryan Seacrest
Ryan Seacrest was accused of sexual misconduct by his former stylist, Suzie Hardy, who said that the abuse included “grinding his erect penis against her while clad only in his underwear, groping her vagina, and at one point slapping her buttock so hard that it left a large welt still visible hours later.”
Seacrest denied the accusations.
In February, E! announced an investigation into allegations of misconduct by Seacrest found “insufficient evidence to support the claims.” He continued to host a wide range of shows on radio and TV, including ABC’s “American Idol” and the daily talk show “Live With Kelly & Ryan.”