Another prominent member of the media is being accused of sexual harassment. This time, it’s longtime TV journalist Charlie Rose.
The Washington Post has published a detailed, in-depth story this afternoon about eight women who say Rose made lewd phone calls, walked around naked in their presence, or groped their breasts, butt, or genitals over the years.
The Post spoke to friends and family members of the accusers, all of whom corroborated the stories.
Three of the eight women agreed to speak on the record, and were either employed or looking to work on the Charlie Rose show at the time of the alleged sexual misconduct. They were between the ages of 21 and 37 when the harassment took place.
Rose, 75, is co-host of CBS This Morning, a 60 Minutes contributor, and host of the legendary namesake interview program which airs on PBS, and is rebroadcast on Bloomberg.
In a statement to WaPo, Rose says:
“In my 45 years of 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 accepted 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.”
UPDATE: CBS News provided TVNewser with the following statement at 6:37 p.m. ET, two minutes after Axelrod completed his reporting:
“Charlie Rose is suspended immediately while we look into this matter. These allegations are extremely disturbing and we take them very seriously.”