Former CBS President Les Moonves Dropped From ‘Most Powerful People In Entertainment’ List
Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
Sixty-eight-year-old former CBS boss Les Moonves fell from No. 4 on the Hollywood Reporter‘s “100 Most Powerful People in Entertainment” list to not even appearing on this year’s list.
Moonves recently stepped down after shocking revelations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior at CBS came to light, despite him denying the allegations.
Moonves has been accused by a dozen women of abuse or misconduct through the 1980s and early 2000s.
The women told reporter Ronan Farrow of The New Yorker that Moonves forced them to perform oral sex, exposed himself to them without their consent and often used physical violence and threatened to damage their careers in order to get what he wanted.
The network reportedly was set to pay Moonves $100 million to leave the company.
When reports came to light that Moonves would receive the massive severance package, many were appalled by the tone-deaf approach. Moonves was one of the highest paid U.S. executives, taking home about $69.3 million in 2017.
After the report came to light, CBS reversed that decision and pledged Moonves would not receive any of that payment pending an investigation into the allegations.
The network then appointed six new members to the CBS board and promised to donate twenty million dollars to organizations that supported the #MeToo movement and workplace equality for women.
The #MeToo movement has taken it’s toll on this list, leading to the freefall of yearly staples of the list like Pixar executive John Lasseter, Amazon Studio’s Roy Price, and director Brett Ratner.
The annual pecking order of showbiz power has been revealed. @michaelb4jordan, @shondarhimes, @Lin_Manuel, @RWitherspoon, @jonmchu are just a few of the names on @THR's 100 Power List. Discover who else made the list and who leads it: https://t.co/9vvP1m1r2L
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) September 21, 2018
Despite the horrific details of abuse and misconduct towards women coming to light Julie Chen, Moonves’s partner, supports her husband.
Chen signed off from CBS’s hit show Big Brother referring to herself as “Julie Chen Moonves” then took some time off from her daily talk show The Talk to take some time with her family only hours after Moonves officially stepped down.
Chen later left her position as a host of The Talk after the show aired a pre-recorded message of Chen announcing her departure from the show.
“I have been at The Talk since the day it started nine years ago, and the cast, crew and staff have become family to me over the years.” Chen began. “But right now, I need to spend more time at home with my husband and our young son. So I’ve decided to leave The Talk. I want to thank everyone at the show for our wonderful years together. I will always, always cherish the memories we shared.”
“Most important, I want to thank you, the viewers, for allowing me into your home every day. It was a privilege that I will forever be grateful for. To everyone behind the scenes … I send you my love. I will miss you all very, very much.” Chen concluded.
