CBS suspends Charlie Rose following allegations of sexual harassment

Following a report detailing allegations of sexual harassment against television host Charlie Rose, Rose has been suspended from CBS News, and PBS and Bloomberg have said they will temporarily halt distribution of his eponymous television show, the Washington Post reported on Monday.

On Tuesday morning, Norah O’Donnell and Gayle King, Rose’s cohosts on CBS This Morning, opened the show by discussing the allegations against their cohost.

Speaking about the allegations against Rose, O’Donnell said, “let me be very clear, there is no excuse for this alleged behavior. It is systematic and pervasive and I’ve been doing a lot of listening and I’m going to continue to do that. This I know is true; Women cannot achieve equality in the workplace and in society until there is a reckoning and a taking of responsibility.”

O’Donnell assured a strong response from CBS, saying, “This will be investigated. This has to end. This behavior is wrong, period.”

The response from CBS, as well as PBS and Bloomberg’s decisions to halt distribution of Rose’s show Charlie Rose, come following a Washington Post report published Monday that detailed allegations of sexual harassment by eight women, all of whom either worked, or wanted to work, on Charlie Rose.

The women alleged that Rose made unwanted sexual advances and lewd comments, two said he walked naked in front of them and one described being groped at a staff party.

Speaking about the allegations against her cohost on Monday morning, CBS’s Gayle King said she was “not OK,” calling the Post report “deeply disturbing, troubling and painful for me to read.”

King said she was “really struggling” to reconcile her personal respect for Rose with the disturbing allegations against him. “That said, Charlie does not get a pass here,” she said. “He doesn’t get a pass from anyone in this room ... He doesn’t get a pass because I can’t stop thinking about the anguish of these women.”