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Charlie Rose suspended from CBS News; PBS, Bloomberg halt show after sexual harassment allegations

Charlie Rose, host of “Charlie Rose” and “CBS This Morning,” has been accused by multiple women of unwanted sexual advances. (Video: Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

CBS News suspended Charlie Rose while PBS and Bloomberg will halt distribution of his show after The Washington Post published an extensive report Monday detailing alleged unwanted sexual advances toward women by the award-winning journalist.

On Monday afternoon, PBS, which has aired Rose’s namesake show since 1991, said it was shocked by the allegations.

“We are immediately suspending distribution of ‘Charlie Rose,'” a PBS spokesperson said in a written statement. “PBS does not fund this nightly program or supervise its production, but we expect our producers to provide a workplace where people feel safe and are treated with dignity and respect.”

Rose has also been suspended from CBS, where he co-hosted “CBS This Morning” since 2012 and is a contributing correspondent for “60 Minutes.”

“Charlie Rose is suspended immediately while we look into this matter. These allegations are extremely disturbing and we take them very seriously,” a CBS News spokesperson said in a written statement.

Rose’s suspension was acknowledged Monday on CBS Evening News, where interim anchor Anthony Mason said “the wave of sexual abuse allegations we’ve been reporting from Hollywood to Washington have now touched CBS News.”

Bloomberg Television, which tapes and rebroadcasts “Charlie Rose,” said it has pulled the show from its television channel.

“We are deeply disturbed to learn of these allegations and are immediately suspending the show from airing on Bloomberg TV and radio,” a Bloomberg spokesman said in a statement.

The eponymous show is produced by Charlie Rose Inc., an independent television production company.

Eight women, who were either employees or prospective employees of Rose’s, told The Post that Rose made unwanted sexual advances toward them between the late 1990s and 2011. Those advances included lewd phone calls, walking around naked in their presence, or groping their breasts, buttocks or genital areas, the women said.

In a statement provided to The Post, the 75-year-old broadcaster said he deeply apologizes “for my inappropriate behavior.”

“I am greatly embarrassed. I have behaved insensitively at times, and I accept responsibility for that, though I do not believe that all of these allegations are accurate. I always felt that I was pursuing shared feelings, even though I now realize I was mistaken,” Rose said.

Rose has long been one of the most well-regarded names in TV news. His 2013 interview with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad won him both an Emmy and a Peabody Award, and in 2015 he received the Walter Cronkite Excellence in Journalism Award.

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Eight women say Charlie Rose sexually harassed them — with nudity, groping and lewd calls