After what is being described as a “scathing” op-ed by Designing Woman creator Linda Bloodworth Thomason, which was published in The Hollywood Reporter , many people on Twitter started playing a guessing game that truly didn’t seem that difficult. It was to identify the actress who starred in the CBS “iconic detective show” in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Bloodworth Thomason never names Angela Lansbury, but using the clues given, the majority of fans seem sure that the op-ed is suggesting that recently fired network head Les Moonves is being accused of assaulting the woman who played Jessica Fletcher.
Decider says that Linda Bloodworth Thomason says that Les Moonves “used his position of power to assault other CBS employees” including an “iconic detective show.” The op-ed talks about something that happened between Moonves and a “famous actress” that took place in the offices at CBS.
“Coming off the cancellation of her iconic detective show, the star began pitching a new one. He informed her that she was too old to be on his network. She began to cry and stood up to go. He stood up too, taking her by the shoulders and telling her, ‘I can’t let you leave like this.’ She reacted, suddenly touched. Then he shoved his tongue down her throat. I know this happened because the star is the person who told me.”
Twitter thinks Les Moonves assaulted Angela Lansbury based on Linda Bloodworth Thomason’s scathing op-ed: https://t.co/PFYRKb64eh pic.twitter.com/JxqxfMZreN
— Decider (@decider) September 13, 2018
Twitter, in particular, lit up, putting together pieces of the puzzle in support of the unnamed woman being Lansbury.
“ Murder, She Wrote was canceled in 1996. I can’t think of another female detective show canceled in the mid-90s. Did Les Moonves assault Angela Lansbury?”
A Twitter account called “Angela Lansbury News” had some additional information, saying that in 2011, Moonves gave the actor who played J.B. Fletcher a back-handed compliment.
“When I first got to CBS, the sexiest woman on the network was Angela Lansbury, but fortunately we’re doing a little bit better than that now.”
The “ALN” account responded: “Well, who’s laughing now, mother****er.”
And it didn’t end there. The account, which says it’s in appreciation of the actor who has been on the small screen, the big screen and the Broadway stage, posted a tweet that started with “that feeling when…”
“That feeling when a bastard, who killed your show after 12 successful seasons and then insulted your womanhood in public, was finally fired in disgrace and you are still as fabulous as ever. Good riddance, Les Moonves. Hope you rot.”
Angela Lansbury did not comment herself, but it seems that the 96-year-old actor still has many loyal fans.