Stephen Colbert reacted to the allegations against his boss, CBS CEO Les Moonves, late Monday, saying “accountability is meaningless, unless it’s for everybody.”
Colbert began the “Late Show” saying Ronan Farrow, the reporter who broke the story in the New Yorker, “isn’t exactly known for his puff pieces about ‘glamping.’” Farrow has broken numerous stories about alleged misconduct by powerful men in the entertainment industry.
“It’s strange to have to say this, powerful men taking advantage of relatively powerless employees is wrong,” he said. “We know it’s wrong now and we knew it was wrong then. And how do we know we knew it was wrong then? Because we know these men tried to keep the stories from coming out back then.”
“Everybody believes in accountability until it’s their guy, and make no mistake, Les Moonves is my guy,” Colbert continued.
Colbert noted that Moonves had hired him as the “Late Show” host, but said that doesn’t mean Moonves shouldn’t be held accountable for the alleged misconduct.
“But accountability is meaningless, unless it’s for everybody,” Colbert said. “Whether it’s the leader of a network or the leader of the free world.”
Six women accused Moonves of sexually harassing them. In a statement, Moonves said he “may have made some women uncomfortable by making advances” decades ago, but he “respected” when they said “no.”
