CBS Chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves is leaving the company, effective immediately, the CBS Corporation announced Sunday.
In July, The New Yorker published the accounts of six women accusing Moonves of sexual misconduct, and the magazine reported six additional allegations on Sunday. CBS hired two law firms to investigate the accusations, and the board won't begin negotiating a severance package until the probe is finished. CBS and Moonves will donate $20 million to organizations that promote equality for women and the #MeToo movement, and that money will be deducted from any financial package Moonves may eventually receive.
Moonves, who has run CBS since 2006, has denied all allegations of sexual misconduct while acknowledging three of the encounters, saying they were consensual. Moonves will be replaced on an interim basis by his deputy, COO Joseph Ianniello, as the board searches for a new leader.