Women’s Group Demands CBS Fire CEO Leslie Moonves Following Multiple Sexual Misconduct Allegations
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, July 30, 2018
CONTACT: Yasmina Dardari | (407) 922-8149 | yasmina@unbendablemedia.com
Women’s Group Demands CBS Fire CEO Leslie Moonves Following Multiple Sexual Misconduct Allegations
NEW YORK — Earlier today, CBS Corporation’s Board of Directors decided against immediate action against CEO Leslie Moonves, in response to a series of sexual misconduct allegations against the CBS Chair. At the same time, the Board said that it was selecting outside counsel to conduct an independent investigation into Moonves.
Last week, the New Yorker published a story detailing sexual misconduct allegations against Moonves. The story documents six women who say that Moonves sexually harassed them in their professional dealings between 1980 and the late 2000s. Multiple women described forcible kissing or touching during business meetings, while two said Moonves intimidated them and threatened to derail their careers. Additionally, more than 30 current and former employees also spoke to New Yorker writer Ronan Farrow about the culture of harassment and discrimination at the company.
In response to the report, Shaunna Thomas, Executive Director of UltraViolet, a leading national women’s organization, issued the following statement:
“We believe women. We believe the six women who have courageously come forward to report sexual harassment or assault against them by CBS CEO Leslie Moonves. And we believe the more than 30 current and former employees who have reported a culture of harassment and discrimination at the company.
“By allowing Leslie Moonves to keep his job, CBS is telling their employees that their safety doesn’t matter, and that the toxic culture of harassment and discrimination Moonves has created is acceptable. The Board must fire Les Moonves immediately to assure their employees that they come first.”
For more information, or for interview with an UltraViolet spokesperson, please contact Yasmina Dardari at (407) 922-8149 or by email at yasmina@unbendablemedia.com.
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UltraViolet is an online community of over 1,000,000 women and men who want to take collective action to expose and fight sexism in the public sector, private sector and the media. Find out more at weareultraviolet.org