About Les Moonves
Les Moonves resigned as chairman and CEO of CBS in September 2018 following a New Yorker article that included allegations of sexual misconduct by six additional women, bringing the total number of accusers to twelve. The allegations included claims that Moonves forced women to perform oral sex, exposed himself without consent, and used physical violence and intimidation. In a statement, Moonves said the allegations were "untrue" and "not consistent with who I am," and that he was "deeply saddened to be leaving the company." His resignation was part of a settlement with CBS.
Prior to his resignation, Moonves had discussed the company's financial performance and strategy on earnings calls. He stated that CBS was growing its subscriber base and average revenue per subscriber, and that content licensing and affiliate fees were becoming a larger share of revenue. He also commented on industry trends, saying that cord-cutting was occurring but that CBS was positioned to benefit through its direct-to-consumer services like CBS All Access and by being included in "skinny bundles." Moonves described the allegations against him as "untrue" and stated that they were "from decades ago."
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Les Moonves's recent appearances.
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Transcript (4 segments)
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Narrator0:02
Firefighters need to outrun the flames.
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Crystal0:17
It follows new accusations of sexual harassment and assault. CBS is the parent company of KCAL9.
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Reporter0:25
This evening, the corporation announced Les Moonves was resigning as part of a settlement. Tonight, he breaks his silence. Les Moonves is no longer at the helm of CBS, saying in part in a statement, 'For the past 24 years, it has been an incredible privilege to lead CBS's renaissance and transformation.' He said, 'Untrue allegations from decades ago are now being made against me that are not consistent with who I am. Effective immediately, I will no longer be chairman and chief executive officer of CBS. I am deeply saddened to be leaving the company.' The number of women who have publicly accused Moonves of sexual misconduct has doubled to 12, according to an article by The New Yorker. Among the allegations, Moonves forced them to perform oral sex on him, exposed himself without their consent, and used physical violence and intimidation against them. In one, he invited a fellow executive to lunch, drove to a secluded area, and forced oral sex. In another allegation, almost a decade later, he, then president of Warner Brothers, working in Los Angeles, allegedly forcibly kissed a young assistant and propositioned her, saying, 'I could help you if you could do something nice for me. I could do something nice for you.' And at CBS, six board members are in place. NAI is a controlling shareholder of Viacom and CBS. CBS had been fighting to stave off a possible merger before this agreement. And as for Moonves' resignation, he will leave with...
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Les Moonves0:07
Leslie Moonves speaking out after his resignation from CBS.
