The executive producer of the CBS news show 60 Minutes is delaying his return from vacation until an investigation into sexual misconduct claims at the network wraps up.
The US TV network’s executives are dealing with fallout from a scandal after allegations against executive producer Jeff Fager and CBS chief executive Les Moonves appeared in a New Yorker magazine article last month.
CBS hired two outside law firms to investigate claims of sexual misconduct from several women spanning three decades at the company. While most of the article focused on Moonves, the article also contained allegations of inappropriate behavior by Fager.
Fager has denied any wrongdoing. CBS is keeping Moonves in place during the investigation.
CBS has not said whether the investigation involves Fager, but it said that he would not return from his scheduled vacation yesterday as planned.
“Having heard the investigation will be wrapping up soon, Jeff has decided to stay on vacation,” CBS News said in a statement.
The company declined to say when the investigation might end.
Against that backdrop, CBS Entertainment president Kelly Kahl on Sunday appeared at the Television Critics Association’s summer meeting in Beverly Hills, California.
He was there to promote the network’s fall season lineup, including its much-anticipated reboot of Murphy Brown.
Instead, he fielded a barrage of questions about Moonves and the effectiveness of CBS policies involving misbehavior.
“I’ve had many female colleagues come to me this week who’ve been saddened about what they’re read about our company. They said it does not represent their experience at CBS,” Kahl said. “I’m not saying we’re perfect. No large company is, and there’s always room for improvement.”
Moonves was an “excellent boss and mentor” and it has been difficult at CBS since the allegations emerged, Kahl said, adding that everyone at the network and its producers are working hard to air the “best shows we can.”
The New Yorker article, published on Saturday last week, said that six women who had professional dealings with Moonves say he sexually harassed them between the 1980s and the late 2000s.
Four of the women described forcible touching or kissing during business meetings, it said, adding that two said that Moonves physically intimidated them or threatened to derail their careers.
Moonves has said that he might have made some women uncomfortable by making advances years ago, but that he never misused his position to hinder anyone’s career.
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