Television host Charlie Rose has been accused by a slew of women of sexual misconduct spanning decades.
The 75-year-old face of “CBS This Morning” and the PBS program “Charlie Rose” joins disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein, comedian Louis C.K., Kevin Spacey and a host of entertainers in a widening cultural sex scandal.
The news was first reported Monday by The Washington Post in an exposé involving dozens of men and women who worked on “Charlie Rose.”
The newspaper said eight women — three of them named — gave details that indicate a modus operandi for putting women in awkward sexual situations.
A trend among the women who spoke to the Post includes:
- Mr. Rose would allegedly grab new employees by the leg to “gauge” their reactions.
- Mr. Rose would invite women to work at his home.
- Mr. Rose allegedly walked around naked once women entered his home.
- Mr. Rose allegedly called women to share sexual fantasies.
“That’s just Charlie being Charlie,’” former assistant Kyle Godfrey-Ryan said that she was told after going to executive producer Yvette Vega.
“Oh, you got the shower trick,” a male co-worker said to Ms. Godfrey-Ryan after one incident.
Ms. Vega confirmed her part in enabling such conduct.
“I should have stood up for them,” Ms. Vega, 52, told the Post. “I failed. It is crushing. I deeply regret not helping them.”
“It has taken 10 years and a fierce moment of cultural reckoning for me to understand these moments for what they were. He was a sexual predator, and I was his victim,” said former associate producer Reah Bravo.
Mr. Rose denied any criminal wrongdoing when contacted by the newspaper, although he did offer an apology.
“In my 45 years in journalism, I have prided myself on being an advocate for the careers of the women with whom I have worked,” Mr. Rose said in a statement. “Nevertheless, in the past few days, claims have been made about my behavior toward some former female colleagues.”
“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, though I do not believe that all of these allegations are accurate. I always felt that I was pursuing shared feelings, even though I now realize I was mistaken.”
PBS and CBS News halted production of Mr. Rose’s shows after the Post released its report.
