Les Moonves asks USC to ‘temporarily suspend’ use of name until misconduct probe ends

CBS chief Les Moonves asked the University of Southern California (USC) to “temporary suspend” the use of his name until CBS is finished with its probe into allegations of sexual misconduct against him, according to multiple reports.

Moonves and his wife Julie Chen reportedly asked USC to temporarily suspend the name of the name “Julie Chen/Leslie Moonves and CBS Media Center … in recognition of the sensitivities surrounding recent allegations against Mr. Moonves,” Emily Cavalcanti, the associate dean for communication and marketing at USC Annenberg, said in a statement to The Wrap.

The media center was named the “Julie Chen/Leslie Moonves and CBS Media Center” following a pledged gift from the couple in 2015.

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CBS has so far declined to ask Moonves to step down from his position, but the media company on Monday announced it would appoint an independent investigator to look into multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. 

Six women in a New Yorker piece published last week accused Moonves of sexual harassment from the 1980s into the early 2000s. Dozens more alleged that Moonves fostered a sexist and toxic culture at CBS in which women felt objectified and undervalued.  

Investigative reporter Ronan Farrow, who was one of three reporters to break the watershed story about media mogul Harvey Weinstein last year, published the Moonves exposé in The New Yorker after  speaking to 30 current former and current CBS employees over the course of several months. 

Four women told Farrow that Moonves had forcibly touched or kissed them during business meetings, and two said Moonves physically intimated them and threatened to derail their careers.

All of the women said their careers suffered after they rejected the CEO’s advances.

“What happened to me was a sexual assault, and then I was fired for not participating,” said actress and writer Illeana Douglas.

Though Moonves admitted that he tried to kiss Douglas, he denied “any characterization of ‘sexual assault,’ intimidation, or retaliatory action” in a statement to The New Yorker 

Moonves in a statement to The New Yorker admitted “there were times decades ago when I may have made some women uncomfortable by making advances.” 

“But I always understood and respected — and abided by the principle — that ‘no’ means ‘no,’ and I have never misused my position to harm or hinder anyone’s career,” Moonves said. 

Moonves’ alma mater Bucknell University reportedly removed all references to him from its website over the weekend.

The allegations emerge as part of the “Me Too” movement against sexual assault in the workplace, which has prompted a cultural reckoning of women across diverse industries telling their stories about sexual harassment. The movement has resulted in dozens of powerful men being ousted from their positions in the media, politics, Hollywood and other industries.