The Washington Post has just broken today’s sexual misconduct story, or should I say this afternoon’s disappointing revelation of 8 women who are accusing Charlie Rose of surprising and upsetting behavior.
As with Kevin Spacey, Harvey Weinstein, Mark Halperin and so on, it would seem very difficult for Rose to remain on the air given this story. It’s utterly crazy– more claims of abuse of power, walking around naked in front of employees and young women, making passes, in appropriate to say the least.
It’s heartbreaking, coming right on the heels of Al Franken, for example. Smart men doing stupid things– not just stupid but insane things, not imaginable. Talented men who assumed they could get away with anything.
Each revelation brings the end to a career, a respected and heralded career, media institutions whom we relied on. I’ve known Charlie Rose for 25 years. How could this be?
Rose’s producer, Yvette Vega, one of the best people I know in media, apparently knew what was going on. She admits as much to the Post. She was between her own rock and a hard place, so to speak. What do you do and still keep your job?
This isn’t over, the so-called Weinstein Effect. Women and men are feeling empowered to tell their stories. The only upside is that the victims can sleep better at night.
For CBS the Rose story is a blow. He hosts “CBS Morning News” with Gayle King. He also contributes to “60 Minutes” and to other news shows. PBS and Bloomberg rely on “The Charlie Rose” show as a staple. Rose’s absence– temporary or permanent– is huge. This is tragic on a Shakespearean level.
My statement in full. pic.twitter.com/3kvFrqF2dT
— Charlie Rose (@charlierose) November 20, 2017
