Veteran US newsman Charlie Rose fired by CBS television over sexual harassment charges
Charlie Rose latest casualty among powerful men accused of sexual abuses in fallout from Harvey Weinstein case
CBS News said on Tuesday it had fired Charlie Rose, one of the most prominent American interviewers, the day after The Washington Post reported the television host had sexually harassed eight women.
PBS said later on Tuesday it has terminated its relationship with Rose.
Rose was a co-host on the morning show “CBS This Morning” and a correspondent for its long-running Sunday night news magazine “60 Minutes.” The “Charlie Rose Show” was broadcast on PBS and Bloomberg TV.
“A short time ago we terminated Charlie Rose’s employment with CBS News, effective immediately,” CBS News President David Rhodes said in an internal message that was shared with media. “This followed the revelation yesterday of extremely disturbing and intolerable behaviour said to have revolved around his PBS programme.”
Rose could not immediately be reached on Tuesday, but on Monday apologised for his “inappropriate behaviour.” Rose, 75, however, also questioned the accuracy of the allegations in The Washington Post.
“I deeply apologise for my inappropriate behaviour,” he said on Monday. “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 realise I was mistaken,” he added, saying he had “come to a profound new respect for women and their lives.”
Eight women accused Rose of making unwanted sexual advances toward them, The Washington Post reported on Monday, the latest in a wave of sexual harassment allegations against prominent men in the entertainment and media industries and American politics.
The women, who were employees or aspired to work for Rose at the “Charlie Rose Show” from the late 1990s to as recently as 2011, told the newspaper he made unwanted sexual advances toward them, walked in the nude around them and groped their breasts, buttocks and genital areas.
After the report on Monday, PBS and Bloomberg suspended Rose’s signature interview show, distributed on both outlets, citing the allegations. Officials with PBS and Bloomberg could not immediately be reached to comment on Tuesday.
Rose routinely landed the biggest names in international politics, entertainment and letters for his interview show.
An acute listener, Rose employed an engaging yet serious style in contrast to the bitter partisan arguments, crosstalk and raised voices on cable television. True to the show’s sober tone, the set was simply a table and chairs with an all-black background.
His persona on “CBS This Morning” was a little more whimsical, given the lighter subject matter of morning news shows in the United States.
