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Charlie Rose Accused of Sexual Harassment By Eight Women, Apologizes for Acting ‘Insensitively’

The women, who range in age from 21 to 37, were all employees or aspired to work on "Charlie Rose" from the late 1990s to 2011.
Charlie Rose
Charlie Rose.
Lewis/Starpix/REX/Shutterstock

UPDATE (November 20): CBS and PBS have suspended Charlie Rose following the multiple sexual harassment allegations. Rose hosts “Charlie Rose” on PBS and is a co-anchor on “CBS This Morning” and a contributing correspondent for CBS’ “60 Minutes.”

Earlier: Eight women have accused talk show host and journalist Charlie Rose of sexual harassment in a new report from The Washington Post. The accusations say Rose made unwanted sexual advances toward all eight women, which includes walking around naked in their presence, having lewd phone calls with them in which he shares sexual fantasies, and groping their breasts, buttocks or genital areas.

According to The Post, the women ranged in age from 21 to 37 at the times of the alleged encounters. They were all employees or aspired to work on “Charlie Rose” from the late 1990s to 2011. Three of the eight spoke on the record, while five have chosen to remain anonymous “out of fear of Rose’s stature in the industry.” Five women say Rose put his hands on their legs as a test to see how they would react, while two claim Rose came out of the shower during business trips and walked naked in front of them. One anonymous woman accuses Rose of groping her butt at a work party.

Reah Bravo, Rose’s intern and associate producer in 2007, told The Post she received unwanted sexual advances while working at Rose’s Bellport, New York estate. Kyle Godfrey-Ryan, one of Rose’s assistants in the mid-2000s, says Rose called her and would tell her his fantasies of her swimming naked. When she contacted Rose’s longtime executive producer Yvette Vega about the calls, she was told, “That’s just Charlie being Charlie.”

Megan Creydt, who worked as a coordinator on the PBS show from 2005 to 2006, says Rose would put his hand on her upper thigh when she in the car with him. “I don’t think I said anything,” she said. “I tensed up. I didn’t move his hand off, but I pulled my legs to the other side of the car. I tried not to get in a car with him ever again. I think he was testing me out.”

In addition to the eight women, The Post spoke with two dozen former Rose employees who either saw what they considered to be harassment or admitted they were uncomfortable with the way their boss treated female employees. Two employees told the newspaper that young women who were hired by the show were sometimes known as “Charlie’s Angels.”

Rose issued the following statement to The Washington Post reacting to the allegations:

In my 45 years in journalism, I have prided myself on being an advocate for the careers of the women with whom I have worked. Nevertheless, in the past few days, claims have been made about my behavior toward some former female colleagues.

It is essential that these women know I hear them and that I deeply apologize for my inappropriate behavior. I am greatly embarrassed. I have behaved insensitively at times, and I accept responsibility for that, though I do not believe that all of these allegations are accurate. I always felt that I was pursuing shared feelings, even though I now realize I was mistaken.

I have learned a great deal as a result of these events, and I hope others will too. All of us, including me, are coming to a newer and deeper recognition of the pain caused by conduct in the past, and have come to a profound new respect for women and their lives.

Rose’s eponymous talk show airs on PBS. He also co-hosts “CBS This Morning” and is a contributing correspondent for “60 Minutes.”

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