Les Moonves

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CBS, Les Moonves Will Pay $30.5M Over Alleged Cover-Up

Network came to agreement with New York AG's office

(Newser) - CBS and its former president, Leslie Moonves, will pay $30.5 million as part of an agreement with the New York attorney general's office, which says the network's executives conspired with a Los Angeles police captain to conceal sexual assault allegations against Moonves. Under the deal announced Wednesday...

Moonves Gives Up on Severance Pay Fight
Moonves, CBS End $120M Fight
May 14, 2021 5:05 PM CDT

Moonves, CBS End $120M Fight

Former CEO fired over sexual assault allegations had sought severance pay

(Newser) - Les Moonves, the former CBS chief executive who was forced out after being accused of sexual harassment and abuse in a period spanning decades, has dropped his attempt to recover $120 million in severance pay. Moonves filed for arbitration in January 2019 over the money after the CBS board decided...

New York Cover Story Has New Trump Allegation

Writer E. Jean Carroll accuses the president of sexually assaulting her in the 1990s

(Newser) - The new cover of New York magazine has a jarring headline: Next to a photo of writer E. Jean Carroll, it reads: "This is what I was wearing 23 years ago when Donald Trump attacked me in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room." Carroll, now 75, is probably best...

Cybill Shepherd: Moonves Killed My Show After I Rejected Him

Cybill could have run for another 5 years, she says

(Newser) - Cybill Shepherd says her 1990s sitcom was smothered, then killed by Les Moonves after she rejected his advances. In an interview with Sirius XM's Michelle Collins Show , the star said Cybill, which was cancelled in 1998 after four seasons, "could have run another five years, but I didn'...

Report: CBS Boss Had Worker 'On Call' for Oral Sex

Lawyers say Moonves was 'evasive and untruthful'

(Newser) - Former CBS chairman and CEO Les Moonves engaged in widespread sexual misconduct in the workplace, according to a report from lawyers the network hired to investigate allegations. Investigators were told by multiple CBS employees that Moonves kept a woman on the payroll "on call to perform oral sex,"...

'Hundreds' of Texts Could Derail Les Moonves' $120M CBS Exit

'NYT' has details of new #MeToo accusation against the ex-CBS chief

(Newser) - A "monthslong cascade of hundreds of text messages" could cost Les Moonves $120 million. That's the crux of a New York Times expose that details a triangle with the former head of CBS, a floundering Hollywood manager, and an actress who once "radiated star power"—and...

CBS Hitmaker: Moonves Had 7-Year Vendetta Against Me

Linda Bloodworth Thomason says she's 'happy to dance on his professional grave'

(Newser) - The creator of Designing Women and Evening Shade, described by the Hollywood Reporter as one of CBS' biggest hitmakers, has written a powerful piece for the Reporter taking disgraced former CBS chairman and CEO Les Moonves to task. But, as the headline of Linda Bloodworth Thomason's piece notes, "...

Moonves May Get $100M Payout From CBS

But it depends on the results of sexual harassment investigation

(Newser) - Les Moonves is departing CBS as sexual harassment allegations continue to pile up—but he won't exactly be leaving empty-handed. The New York Times , citing "sources familiar with the settlement agreement," reports that the longtime chief executive could receive more than $120 million under his agreement with...

Les Moonves Has Reached a Settlement to Leave CBS

Reports indicate an official announcement will come Monday

(Newser) - CBS chief Les Moonves will imminently leave his post as chairman and CEO of the media giant, per CNN . According to the report, Moonves has been locked in a legal battle with controlling shareholder Shari Redstone and a settlement hadn't been finalized until Sunday, the same day Ronan Farrow...

Moonves Remains in Place at CBS, at Least for Now

Network is hiring outside counsel to conduct sexual misconduct probe

(Newser) - CBS will keep CEO Les Moonves in place during an investigation of sexual misconduct charges against him, the company said. It will hire an outside counsel to conduct the probe, the AP reports. On Friday a New Yorker article quoted six women who accused Moonves of sexual misconduct over a...

Brian Williams Wanted to Succeed Letterman

According to new investigative report

(Newser) - Previous reports have noted that Brian Williams once lobbied for Jay Leno's Tonight Show job, and now it turns out Williams tried to get David Letterman's job, too. That's just one of the tidbits from a new investigative piece by Gabriel Sherman in New York that...

Time Warner Pulls CBS— for 30 Minutes

Stops screening CBS, Showtime after negotiations stall

(Newser) - Bad news for fans of procedural crime dramas: Negotiations between CBS and Time Warner Cable turned so sour last night that the cable network stopped airing CBS and Showtime in major cities. It pulled the plug at midnight Eastern time, following a day of discussions over the retransmission fee Time...

Fox Refuses Ads for Service to, Well, Kill Ads

Dish Network's Hopper can automatically skip commercials

(Newser) - How awesome would it be if your DVR automatically skipped commercials on shows recorded off the major networks? Probably not very awesome if you were one of those same networks, which is why they're outraged over the Dish Network's upcoming "Hopper," which, Dish announced last week,...

CBS Boss Les Moonves Makes $70M

Of that, $3.5M is base salary

(Newser) - Network TV struggling? Not enough to prevent CBS honcho Les Moonves from pulling in $69.9 million in total compensation last year, reports the Wall Street Journal . The president and CEO had a base salary of $3.5 million, with the rest coming in the form of a bonus, plus...

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