Ronan Farrow’s Latest Exposé Accuses CBS’s Les Moonves Of Sexual Misconduct

Another incredibly powerful man in Hollywood is about to be on the hot seat thanks to the hard-hitting reporting of Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter/author, Ronan Farrow, in the next issue of The New Yorker, according to The Hollywood Reporter. While the magazine prefers not to comment on issues that haven’t been published yet, news of the allegations against the CBS chairman and CEO leaked out. Sources say the article will appear on the magazine’s website later today. Regardless, CBS still released the following statement about it.

“All allegations of personal misconduct are to be taken seriously. 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.”

Apparently, many of the allegations go as far back 20 years and involve unwanted kissing and touching, with some allegations having happened more recently. Moonves is married to Julie Chen, who hosts two shows for the Eye network — Big Brother and The Talk. They have been married since 2004. The allegations took place when he was married to Nancy Wiesenfeld, whom he had been married to since 1978. He married Chen less than two weeks after that divorce was finalized, according to THR.

Farrow is the reporter who brought to light all of the allegations against another Hollywood heavyweight — Harvey Weinstein, which won him and The New Yorker (as well as the New York Times) the Pulitzer. He apparently has been investigating Moonves as well as the culture at CBS for months, spawning rumors throughout the industry that such an article might be in the works.

All of this comes as Moonves was already dealing with Shari Redstone, the controlling shareholder in both CBS and Viacom, who wants to merge CBS and Viacom but Moonves is fighting it. The board also commented on that part of the puzzle.

“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.”

CBS came under scrutiny when it fired Charlie Rose after it was reported that eight women had accused the talk-show host of sexual misconduct over the years, as previously reported by Inquisitr.