By Robert Laurie ——Bio and Archives--November 21, 2017
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If you happened to be on Twitter last night, you saw the social media platform erupt when The Washington Post broke the story of multiple sexual harassment accusations levelled against CBS and PBS anchor Charlie Rose. Immediately, the journalist was yanked from both networks and is currently suspended pending investigations. The speed with which he was pulled off the air is telling.
Rose is accused of groping, exposing himself, making lewd phone calls, and inappropriate advances toward 8 women who either worked for Rose, or tried to work for him, during the course of the last few decades. Eight women have told The Washington Post that longtime television host Charlie Rose made unwanted sexual advances toward them, including lewd phone calls, walking around naked in their presence, or groping their breasts, buttocks or genital areas. The women were employees or aspired to work for Rose at the “Charlie Rose” show from the late 1990s to as recently as 2011. They ranged in age from 21 to 37 at the time of the alleged encounters. Rose, 75, whose show airs on PBS and Bloomberg TV, also co-hosts “CBS This Morning” and is a contributing correspondent for “60 Minutes.” There are striking commonalities in the accounts of the women, each of whom described their interactions with Rose in multiple interviews with The Post. For all of the women, reporters interviewed friends, colleagues or family members who said the women had confided in them about aspects of the incidents. Three of the eight spoke on the record. ...Most of the women said Rose alternated between fury and flattery in his interactions with them. Five described Rose putting his hand on their legs, sometimes their upper thigh, in what they perceived as a test to gauge their reactions. Two said that while they were working for Rose at his residences or were traveling with him on business, he emerged from the shower and walked naked in front of them. One said he groped her buttocks at a staff party.
“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.”In other words, he's offering the standard pseudo-apology we've come to expect from serial gropers. And by the way, how weird is it to say that he hopes "others" will learn from his transgressions? "Let my awfulness be an example to everyone else" isn't exactly a defense.
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