Former television personality Charlie Rose has settled a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by three women following his dismissal from CBS News and the end of his PBS talk show in the wake of the #MeToo movement in 2017.
In their settlement, the involved plaintiffs noted that they do not harbor any “ill intent” toward Rose, acknowledging that his actions could indeed be interpreted in multiple ways.
Legal representatives for both Rose and the plaintiffs, who were younger staff members accusing him of “predatory behavior” and “blatant and repeated sexual harassment,” submitted documents to the court this week to confirm that the lawsuit has reached a conclusion. The case has been listed as settled on an online court docket, although the specific terms of the agreement remain undisclosed.
The lawsuit was facing a trial set for Monday in Manhattan, following years of disputes regarding the women’s accusations and the dismissal of their retaliation claims against Rose.
The plaintiffs—Katherine Brooks Harris, Sydney McNeal, and Yuqing Wei—released a statement indicating that the pretrial discovery process helped both parties gain a clearer understanding of one another’s perspectives.
“After going through the discovery, we’ve realized that there can be different interpretations of conduct, which has led us to settle the claims,” they stated. “We do not assign any malicious intent to Charlie Rose.”
Rose’s attorney chose not to make a statement. The 82-year-old former host has previously expressed remorse for his actions, particularly in a message released just before his termination in November 2017, when accusations from multiple women surfaced.
He acknowledged the need for the women to know that he heard their concerns, stating, “I deeply apologize for my inappropriate behavior. I am highly embarrassed and have acted insensitively at times, which I take responsibility for, although I dispute the accuracy of all the allegations. I believed I was pursuing shared feelings, but now see I was mistaken.”
Rose’s fall from grace illustrates the broader #MeToo movement, which has spotlighted sexual misconduct by influential figures and contributed to the downfall of other prominent personalities like “Today” host Matt Lauer and film producer Harvey Weinstein.
Currently, Rose is hosting a series of interviews on YouTube, with notable recent guests like author Michael Lewis and broadcaster Bob Costas.
Harris, McNeal, and Wei initially brought their lawsuit against Rose and CBS in a New York state court in May 2018, roughly six months post-Rose’s dismissal from “CBS This Morning,” which was the morning show at CBS, as well as subsequent cancellations from PBS and Bloomberg Television.
At the time of their hiring, all three women were in their early twenties—Harris served as a broadcast associate and later as an associate producer for Rose’s PBS show, McNeal was Rose’s executive assistant, and Wei was a news associate before becoming an anchor assistant at “CBS This Morning.”
The women accused the significantly older Rose of engaging in continuous physical and verbal harassment, making inappropriate inquiries about their personal lives, and boasting about his own. They alleged that CBS failed to take preventive measures against Rose’s alleged harassment.
CBS had previously settled with the plaintiffs in December 2018 for an undisclosed amount, with the women requesting confidentiality regarding the terms.
Should the trial have proceeded, Rose’s legal team indicated they would have contested the credibility of the women’s allegations with evidence suggesting they had previously shown little concern regarding Rose’s behavior.
Among the provided evidence, Rose’s attorney cited a report stating that Wei mentioned to a CBS HR officer her perceived lack of “sexually inappropriate” experiences while working with Rose, while McNeal had confided to her therapist about never experiencing any harassment from him. Additionally, documents revealed that Harris characterized any harassment she experienced as “very subtle” and had communicated with Rose months later, noting that their interactions were “always professional and respectful.”
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