CBS denies Les Moonves $167m payout

Former CBS Chairman & CEO Les Moonves has been denied the $120m (AU$167m) severance payout he expected after stepping down under allegations of misconduct by the network’s Board.

CBS cites termination and breach of contract as reason to withhold.

“The Board of Directors of CBS has completed its investigation of former Chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves, CBS News, and cultural issues at CBS,” the company said in a statement. “With regard to Mr. Moonves, we have determined that there are grounds to terminate for cause, including his willful and material misfeasance, violation of Company policies and breach of his employment contract, as well as his willful failure to cooperate fully with the Company’s investigation. Mr. Moonves will not receive any severance payment from the Company.”

Moonves resigned in September, after The New Yorker published a report detailing new allegations by six women spanning from the 1980s to the 2000s, including claims he forced women to perform oral sex on him and that he exposed himself to them.

The women’s accusations were similar to those made by six other women, who claimed they were subjected Moonves’ to unwelcome sexual advances and suffered professional retaliation when they rebuffed the now-disgraced television executive.

Moonves, a company man of 24 years who had a knack for picking hit shows like Survivor and The Big Bang Theory, acknowledged three encounters before his tenure at CBS, but said they were consensual.

He is now expected to take take legal action over severance monies.

Source: Deadline