According to a report from The Washington Post, eight women have come forward with sexual harassment allegations against Charlie Rose, accusing the TV newshost of making “unwanted sexual advances,” including “lewd phone calls, walking around naked in their presence, or groping their breasts, buttocks, or genital areas.” The women involved were all between 21 and 37 at the time, and they either worked with Rose or were applying for jobs when the alleged harassment happened. Three of the women spoke to The Washington Post on the record, but the others chose to remain anonymous “out of fear of Rose’s stature in the industry, his power over their careers, or what they described as his volatile temper.”
Rose’s temper was apparently a recurring point in the allegations, with The Post saying that most of the accusers said he “alternated between fury and flattery” in his interactions. One, a former intern and associate producer on Rose’s PBS show, said he made sexual advances toward her while working at this private waterfront estate and traveling with him, saying she believes he “was a sexual predator.” Another accuser, a former assistant, said that there were “at least a dozen times” where he would walk in front of her nude and “repeatedly” called her to say he had fantasies about watching her swim naked in his pool.
That woman said she complained to Yvette Vega, Rose’s executive producer, who dismissed the allegations as “just Charlie being Charlie.” In a statement, Vega says that she regrets not standing up for the accusers, saying, “I failed. It is crushing. I deeply regret not helping them.” Supposedly, this was all well known among Rose’s employees, with some telling stories of a “ritual” in which young women would be asked to work at a desk in Rose’s apartment and he would allegedly come up with ways to get them to see him naked.
Other allegations involve Rose firing women who told their friends or colleagues about harassment they experienced, trying to entice them with high-paying job offers that involved pressuring them to live in houses that he owned (and therefore had keys for), and even getting on top them while on a private plane in full view of the crew.
Rose also gave a statement to The Post, which you can see below in full.
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. 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. I have learned a great deal as a result of these events, and I hope others will too. All of us, including me, are coming to a newer and deeper recognition of the pain caused by conduct in the past, and have come to a profound new respect for women and their lives.
CBS News has now announced that it has suspended Rose, and PBS is halting production of his show.