His Victims Will Be Over The Moon

SOLVED!

UPDATED!

[Blind Gossip] We told you earlier this year that this very big name in entertainment was about to be exposed for his many transgressions against women.

Well, talk is getting louder about the identity of the media man, because that story is nearing publication!

His victims will be happy that he is finally being exposed and that their voices are being heard.

Know who probably won’t be over the moon about the expose? His wife!

Similar: Keep An Eye Out For CBS Abuser

Media Man:

Clues:

[Optional] What do you think should/will happen to him?

SOLVED!

Media Man: Leslie Moonves, CEO of CBS

Blind Gossip told you at the beginning of 2018 that Les Moonves, CEO of CBS, was under investigation for the sexual harassment of multiple female employees.

It took about six months, but, thanks to Ronan Farrow, the story is finally breaking publicly!

Did you catch the two major clues?

“Over The Moon” = Moonves. “Talk is getting louder” = The Talk, a show on CBS. Moonves’ wife, Julie Chen, is the host of The Talk, as well as Big Brother. Both shows are on CBS.

Did you know that Moonves had an affair with Julie Chen while he was married to his first wife?

And that he married Chen just two weeks after his divorce?

Now you do!

From The Hollywood Reporter:

Leslie Moonves Accused of Sexual Misconduct in Ronan Farrow Exposé

The CBS CEO, one of the most powerful men in Hollywood, is accused of unwanted kissing and touching in a New Yorker article set to be published Friday.
The New Yorker is poised to publish an article by Ronan Farrow that includes allegations of sexual misconduct on the part of embattled CBS chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

A spokesperson for The New Yorker says, “We don’t comment on pieces we haven’t published.” Sources with knowledge of the article say it delves into the broader culture at CBS and will publish later today on the magazine’s website.

CBS said in a statement that it is investigating the claims made against Moonves. “All allegations of personal misconduct are to be taken seriously,” the network stated. “The Independent Directors of CBS have committed to investigating claims that violate the Company’s clear policies in that regard. Upon the conclusion of that investigation, which involves recently reported allegations that go back several decades, the Board will promptly review the findings and take appropriate action.”

CBS added: “The timing of this report comes in the midst of the Company’s very public legal dispute. While that litigation process continues, the CBS management team has the full support of the independent board members. Along with that team, we will continue to focus on creating value for our shareowners.”

The allegations are said in part to involve instances of unwanted kissing and touching that occurred more than 20 years ago, as well as numerous claims that occurred more recently.

Moonves, 68, has been married to CBS personality Julie Chen since 2004. (The two wed less than two weeks after Moonves finalized his divorce from Nancy Wiesenfeld, whom he had married in 1978.)

Farrow, the reporter who won a Pulitzer Prize for breaking news of Harvey Weinstein’s alleged pattern of rape and sexual assault, is said to have investigated Moonves and the environment at CBS for months, as rumors swirled through the industry that such an article was in the works.

It is unclear what impact The New Yorker report will have at a time when Moonves is locked in litigation with Shari Redstone, the controlling shareholder in both CBS and Viacom. The feud erupted after CBS resisted Redstone’s desire to merge the two companies, which she controls through voting shares in the Redstone family-controlled trust, National Amusements Inc.

CBS sued Redstone in May to prevent her from attempting to take control by ousting directors or changing bylaws. Redstone responded with her own lawsuit saying Moonves had no right to strip her of control of CBS.

CBS received unwelcome scrutiny in November when it fired Charlie Rose after The Washington Post reported that eight women had accused the talk-show host and co-anchor of CBS This Morning of sexual misconduct. In a May 3 follow-up, the paper reported that CBS managers had been warned about Rose’s conduct on three occasions, as early as in 1986 (long before Moonves worked at the network) and as recently as in April 2017. Among an additional 27 women who came forward with allegations against Rose were 14 CBS News employees.

A charismatic one-time actor, Moonves has long wielded exceptionally tight control over CBS while producing exceptional results. He has kept hits on the air during a turbulent time for the broadcast business: In 2017, CBS ranked as the most-watched network in terms of total viewers (as it had done for nine consecutive years), though it trailed NBC in the 18-to-49 demo.

With entertainment consumption habits changing quickly, Moonves launched the CBS All Access streaming service with a spinoff of The Good Wife and a revamped Star Trek series.

Moonves joined CBS in 1995 and remained there after Sumner Redstone acquired the company in 2000. He took the network from last to first place in the ratings with hits including Everybody Loves Raymond, Survivor and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

In 2006, when Viacom split its businesses into two publicly traded companies, Moonves was named president and CEO of the newly formed CBS Corp. He became chairman in 2016.

Moonves has a close-knit executive cadre working for him but he is known to demand great loyalty and he has made enemies along the way. When Howard Stern jumped from CBS Radio to Sirius Satellite, Moonves sued the shock jock for $500 million, prompting Stern to go on CBS’ own Late Show wearing an “I Hate Les Moonves” shirt.

Congratulations to Tellmemore for being first with the correct response!

UPDATE!

The New Yorker article by Ronan Farrow has just been published! Here is a link. It’s a long article, but well worth a read.

UPDATE!

And… he’s OUT!

Les Moonves was fired by CBS after a follow-up piece by Ronan Farrow was published in The New Yorker this weekend.

Farrow detailed the stories of six more women. In various combinations, Moonves had sexually harassed or assaulted them, and then had threatened their careers.

We believe that brings the total to thirteen women.

Moonves was ousted shortly thereafter.

From The New Yorker:

As Leslie Moonves Negotiates His Exit from CBS, Six Women Raise New Assault and Harassment Claims

Members of the board of the CBS Corporation are negotiating with the company’s chairman and C.E.O., Leslie Moonves, about his departure. Sources familiar with the board’s activities said the discussions about Moonves stepping down began several weeks ago, after an article published in the The New Yorker detailed allegations by six women that the media executive had sexually harassed them, and revealed complaints by dozens of others that the culture in some parts of the company tolerated sexual misconduct. Since then, the board has selected outside counsel to lead an investigation into the claims.

As the negotiations continue and shareholders and advocacy groups accuse the board of failing to hold Moonves accountable, new allegations are emerging. Six additional women are now accusing Moonves of sexual harassment or assault in incidents that took place between the nineteen-eighties and the early two-thousands. They include claims that Moonves forced them to perform oral sex on him, that he exposed himself to them without their consent, and that he used physical violence and intimidation against them. A number of the women also said that Moonves retaliated after they rebuffed him, damaging their careers. Similar frustrations about perceived inaction have prompted another woman to raise a claim of misconduct against Jeff Fager, the executive producer of “60 Minutes,” who previously reported to Moonves as the chairman of CBS News.

One of the women with allegations against Moonves, a veteran television executive named Phyllis Golden-Gottlieb, told me that she filed a criminal complaint late last year with the Los Angeles Police Department, accusing Moonves of physically restraining her and forcing her to perform oral sex on him, and of exposing himself to her and violently throwing her against a wall in later incidents. The two worked together in the late nineteen-eighties. Law-enforcement sources told me that they found Golden-Gottlieb’s allegations credible and consistent but prosecutors declined to pursue charges because the statutes of limitations for the crimes had expired. Early this year, Moonves informed a portion of the CBS board about the criminal investigation.

The terms of Moonves’s potential departure have yet to be settled. Last week, news reports had circulated that he might leave with an exit package of nearly a hundred million dollars. Several of the women expressed outrage that Moonves might be enriched by his departure from the company. Jessica Pallingston, a writer, alleges that Moonves coerced her into performing oral sex on him when she worked as his temporary assistant, in the nineties, and that, after she repelled subsequent sexual advances, he became hostile, at one point calling her a “cunt.” “It’s completely disgusting,” she said of the reports of Moonves’s potential exit package. “He should take all that money and give it to an organization that helps survivors of sexual abuse.”

In a statement, Moonves acknowledged three of the encounters, but said that they were consensual: “The appalling accusations in this article are untrue. What is true is that I had consensual relations with three of the women some 25 years ago before I came to CBS. And I have never used my position to hinder the advancement or careers of women. In my 40 years of work, I have never before heard of such disturbing accusations. I can only surmise they are surfacing now for the first time, decades later, as part of a concerted effort by others to destroy my name, my reputation, and my career. Anyone who knows me knows that the person described in this article is not me.” Moonves declined to specify which three encounters he considered consensual.

In separate statements, the CBS board of directors said that it “is committed to a thorough and independent investigation of the allegations, and that investigation is actively underway,” and the CBS Corporation said it “takes these allegations very seriously,” and called the board’s investigation “thorough” and “ongoing.”

In other news, Julie Chen is taking some time off from The Talk to support her disgraced husband. You may recall that The Talk is the CBS project Moonves advanced at the network while he was CEO.

You can read the entire Ronan Farrow article here. It details the charges made by each of the six women in a very straight-forward and compelling manner. It chronicals the sad struggle that each one faced about telling or not telling others what had happened to them.

It also reveals how frightened they were when Moonves viciously retaliated against them.

Good on you, Ronan Farrow! And kudos to all the brave women who came forward!

Related: Keep An Eye Out For CBS Abuser

Related: Deal Before Disaster

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