CBS This Morning hosts Norah O’Donnell and Gayle King did not pull any punches Tuesday morning when responding to the sexual harassment allegations against their now-suspended co-host, Charlie Rose. Eight women have accused Rose of inappropriate behavior; as O’Donnell put it on the morning news program, “This is a moment that demands a frank and honest assessment of where we stand and, more generally, the safety of women.”
“Let me be very clear,” O’Donnell continued. “There is no excuse for this alleged behavior. It is systematic and pervasive. I have been doing a lot of listening, and I am going to continue to do that. This I know is true: women cannot achieve equality in the workplace or in society until there is a reckoning and a taking of responsibility. I am really proud to work at CBS News. There are so many incredible people here, especially on this show. All of you here. This will be investigated. This has to end. This behavior is wrong. Period.”
On Monday, Rose issued a statement to The Washington Post, which broke the story, saying, “I deeply apologize 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.” In addition to his position as co-host of CBS This Morning and 60 Minutes contributor for CBS, Rose’s eponymous interview show, which has aired on PBS since 1991, has been suspended.
On Tuesday, King echoed O’Donnell’s sentiments, saying, “I really am still reeling.”
“I got an hour and 42 minutes of sleep last night,” King continued. “Both my son and my daughter called me; Oprah called me and said, ‘Are you O.K.?’ I am not O.K. After reading that article in the Post, it was deeply disturbing, troubling, and painful for me to read . . . I’ve enjoyed a friendship and a partnership with Charlie for the past five years. I have held him in such high regard and I am really struggling, because what do you say when someone that you deeply care about has done something that is so horrible? How do you wrap your brain around that? I’m really grappling with that.”
Still, King insisted, “Charlie does not get a pass here. He doesn’t get a pass from anyone in this room. We are all deeply affected. We are all rocked by this . . . He doesn’t get a pass because I can’t stop thinking about these women: what happened to their dignity, what happened to their bodies, what happened, maybe, to their careers. I can’t stop thinking about that and the pain that they’re going through.”
King also applauded the women who spoke up, adding that she hoped it would embolden those who have been too afraid to offer their own stories so far. As she and O’Donnell continued the program without their colleague, King noted, “None of us ever thought that we’d be sitting here at this table in particular reporting this story, but here we are. But we will continue to report the news as we always have.”
