Leslie Moonves, the longtime chairman, president, and CEO of CBS, left the television network on Sunday after a slew of new allegations that he was physically and sexually abusive toward women.
Moonves and CBS will donate $20 million to one or more #MeToo movement-related organizations or groups promoting gender equality in the workplace, the amount to be deducted from any severance Moonves may be owed following an independent investigation into his conduct, the network announced in a statement. Moonves will not receive any severance benefits, said to be worth as much as $120 million, until the probe is completed, the New York Times reported.
Moonves’ immediate departure came hours after the New Yorker published claims by six more women dating back to the 1980s, some of whom allege the powerful network executive forced them to perform oral sex, exposed himself to them, and retaliated when they refused his advances. Moonves told the magazine three of those relationships were consensual.
In July, six other women levied sexual harassment accusations against the man credited with elevating CBS as a network. Moonves, at the time, denied he had engaged in unwanted sexual behavior.
Moonves’ exit coincides with a legal battle launched by Shari Redstone, the daughter of Viacom and CBS owner Sumner Redstone and the network’s largest shareholder. Shari Redstone wanted to reunite the two companies.
In the CBS statement Sunday, the network said Redstone’s litigation had been dismissed and that Viacom would not propose merging the two entities for another two years.
COO Joseph Ianniello will serve as president and acting CEO while CBS’s board of directors searches for Moonves’ replacement. Changes have also been made to the board in order to ensure its independence.
