Les Moonves denies allegations of sexual misconduct
Former CBS CEO Les Moonves resigns, hits back at 'untrue allegations from decades ago.'
Former CBS CEO Les Moonves, who resigned in September following a slew of sexual misconduct allegations made against him, "destroyed evidence" related to the case, according to a report released Tuesday night.
Moonves, 69, was trying to save his reputation at the network, and his multimillion-dollar severance package, when he "misled investigators" working on behalf of the company, The New York Times reported, citing a 59-page report drafted for the CBS board.
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The report, according to The Times, said Moonves "engaged in multiple acts of serious nonconsensual sexual misconduct in and outside of the workplace, both before and after he came to CBS in 1995.”
The document was drafted by lawyers hired by CBS and reportedly says the network has justification to deny Moonves his $120 million severance package.
Moonves resigned from the company after multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct in two New Yorker articles written by Ronan Farrow. Moonves said the accusations were "appalling" and false, but acknowledged having consensual relations with three of the woman before he started working at CBS.
The draft report, as seen by the Times in late November, reportedly included "previously undisclosed allegations of sexual misconduct." Lawyers investigating the case described Moonves as "evasive and untruthful at times," claiming that he "deliberately lied about and minimized the extent of his sexual misconduct" during the four times they spoke with him.
The document also reportedly included details regarding an accusation made by actress Bobbie Phillips, who claimed Moonves — at the time of the alleged encounter in 1995, he was president of Warner Bros Television — forced her to perform oral sex on him. The Times also first reported this alleged incident.
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Investigators said they spoke to 11 of 17 women that had accused Moonves of misconduct and their allegations were deemed credible. Investigators also stated they believed CBS's board "would have multiple bases upon which to conclude that the company was entitled to terminate Moonves for cause."
Moonves' lawyer told The Times his client “denies having any nonconsensual" sexual relations, adding that he “cooperated extensively and fully with investigators.”
The CBS board told The Times it has yet to be presented with the report and "has reached no conclusions on this matter."
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