PBS has ended its relationship with newsman Charlie Rose following multiple accusations of sexual misconduct against the anchor, just minutes after CBS announced it was firing Rose from his posts at “CBS This Morning” and “60 Minutes.” Bloomberg has also severed ties, announcing Monday that it will stop distributing his show “Charlie Rose.”
“In light of yesterday’s revelations, PBS has terminated its relationship with Charlie Rose on Tuesday and cancelled distribution of his programs,” the broadcast channel told TheWrap in a new statement. “PBS expects all the producers we work with to provide a workplace where people feel safe and are treated with dignity and respect.”
CBS officially fired its “This Morning” co-host and “60 Minutes” contributor Rose a few hours earlier today. And Bloomberg confirmed that they terminated their rebroadcast agreement with Rose.
Rose became the latest media icon to face the heat after the Washington Post published numerous accounts of unwanted groping, and at least one instance where Rose exposed himself to another woman, in an in-depth piece on Monday. The cases, which span from the 1990s to 2011, generally involved women employed at his eponymous program or aspiring to work there.
In a statement given, Rose broadly apologized for his actions.
“It is essential that these women know I hear them and that I deeply apologize for my inappropriate behavior,” Rose told the Post. “I am greatly embarrassed. I have behaved insensitively at times, and I accept responsibility for that,” he said, adding: “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.”
Just before PBS made the announcement they were dropping Rose today, CBS News terminated its relationship with the longtime news show host. The network had originally suspended Rose the day before.
“Despite Charlie’s important journalistic contribution to our news division, there is absolutely nothing more important, in this or any organization, than ensuring a safe, professional workplace,” CBS News President David Rhodes wrote in a statement. “I’m deeply disappointed and angry that people were victimized.”
Rose did not appear on “CBS This Morning” on Tuesday and was denounced by his two co-hosts Gayle King and Norah O’Donnell.
“I really am still reeling. I got an hour and 42 minutes of sleep last night,” said King, who looked very exasperated on the morning news program. “I am not OK. After reading that article in the [Washington] Post, it was deeply disturbing, troubling and painful for me to read.”