Sexual Misconduct

• Posted Wednesday 4/18/18 at 11:16PM EDT Why it's too early to talk about a Louis CK comeback

  With the recent news that Matt Lauer and Mario Batali are exploring potential comebacks, and The Hollywood Reporter publishing a story that many have read as sympathetic to Louis CK, feminst podcaster Sarah Lerner observed yesterday that we seem to have reached "the Sexual Predator Redemption Arc™️ phase" of the #metoo news cycle. In the Hollywood Reporter article, comedian Gilbert Gottfried is quoted as saying “there are different levels of misbehavior” and that Louis CK's sexual misconduct isn't comparable to Harvey Weinstein. To which Paste Magazine's Garrett Martin says: "Nobody needs to be asking what Louis CK can do to restore his career until women in comedy feel ready to let him try. Five months is not enough time to forgive his misuse of power or forget how he exploited women looking for career help for his own sexual satisfaction." ALSO: No one is saying ban Louis CK for life, but talking about his redemption after just five months makes his actions seem inconsequential.

  # TOPICS: Louis C.K., Gilbert Gottfried, Mario Batali, Matt Lauer, Sexual Misconduct

• Posted Wednesday 4/18/18 at 11:16PM EDT Giada De Laurentiis on Mario Batali's sexual harassment scandal: "It doesn’t come as a huge shock"

  “I did not have those exact experiences with him, but it doesn’t come as a huge shock,” she tells People of her close Food Network friend. “Anybody who’s ever hung out with Mario knows he’s a very charismatic person,” she continued. “We drink too much and sometimes … I’m not legitimizing it by any means. I know I’ve been through my own issues in this business. I think any woman in any business goes through stuff. It’s just sad, you know? It’s time, but it’s also sad. It’s a combo, and I think we all feel both.”

  # TOPICS: Mario Batali, Food Network, Giada De Laurentiis, Sexual Misconduct

• Posted Tuesday 4/17/18 at 7:01PM EDT Katie Couric still hasn't reconciled the Matt Lauer allegations -- she's trying to separate "truth from fiction"

  “I don’t think I have reconciled it honestly, because it’s very upsetting and disappointing," she said at a Buzzfeed event promoting her new Nat Geo show America Inside Out. "I also really don’t know the details of these incidents still. And I think a lot of people who worked on the show when I was there, and when Matt and I did the Today show, don’t really understand the extent of these incidents or what exactly happened and, you know, separating truth from fiction.”

  # TOPICS: Matt Lauer, NBC, Today Show, Katie Couric, Sexual Misconduct

• Posted Tuesday 4/17/18 at 1:41PM EDT Is Matt Lauer ready to make a comeback?

  A Page Six report described the disgraced former Today anchor as "testing the waters for a public comeback." But as Hilary Weaver notes: "A comeback for Lauer might be easier said than done. So far, none of the dozens of high-profile men who lost their jobs amid the slew of sexual misconduct allegations that began last October have successfully bounced back into the spotlight."

  # TOPICS: Matt Lauer, Sexual Misconduct

• Posted Tuesday 4/17/18 at 1:41PM EDT Morgan Spurlock insists his #MeToo confession didn't breach his TNT deal to make a docuseries on women's issues

  Turner is looking to recover funds for the women-focused Who Rules the World? that Spurlock was producing before he admitted to sexual misconduct in his past. But Spurlock says his deal didn't contain a morals clause.

  # TOPICS: Morgan Spurlock, TNT, Who Rules the World, Legal, Sexual Misconduct

• Posted Monday 4/16/18 at 5:49PM EDT New York Times and New Yorker win a Pulitzer for their reporting that kicked off the #MeToo movement

  Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey of The Times are sharing Pulitzer Prize for public service with Ronan Farrow of The New Yorker for exposing Harvey Weinstein's sexual misconduct scandal. The Pulitzer board stated its award is "for explosive, impactful journalism that exposed powerful and wealthy sexual predators, including allegations against one of Hollywood’s most influential producers, bringing them to account for long-suppressed allegations of coercion, brutality and victim silencing, thus spurring a worldwide reckoning about sexual abuse of women." ALSO: Fox News boasts: "NBC humiliated when Ronan Farrow wins Pulitzer for Weinstein expose after Peacock passed."

  # TOPICS: Harvey Weinstein, FOX News Channel, Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey, Ronan Farrow, Pulitzer Prize, Sexual Misconduct, Time's Up

• Posted Thursday 4/12/18 at 10:36PM EDT Hoda Kotb: Why I still keep in touch with Matt Lauer

  “We keep in touch with him," the Today anchor tells The Hollywood Reporter. "I mean, look, this is one of those complex situations. I’ve known him since I started working at NBC (in 1998). When I was sick with breast cancer, he was the first to call. He helps and helped in ways that . . . you know, he was incredible in that way. There is that Matt and then there’s the Matt that the accusers speak of.”

  # TOPICS: Matt Lauer, NBC, Today Show, Hoda Kotb, NBC News, Sexual Misconduct

• Posted Thursday 4/12/18 at 3:02PM EDT Janice Dickinson testifies at Bill Cosby trial, detailing how he allegedly drugged and raped her

  “He was ‘America’s Dad.’ He was very well respected from being on TV to being a happily married man with five children," the former America's Next Top Model judge testified today. When she found out what happened, she said, "I wanted to hit him. I wanted to punch him in the face."

  # TOPICS: Bill Cosby, Janice Dickinson, Sexual Misconduct

• Posted Thursday 4/12/18 at 1:02PM EDT Charlie Rose described as "broken" and "desperately lonely" since his sexual harassment scandal

  The Hollywood Reporter describes how Rose was completely ignored last week and had to keep his head down while visiting a popular New York City restaurant. "Dressed in a dark suit, Rose projected dishevelment: his hair messy, his notebook's pages askew, his gait shuffling," writes James Oliver Cury. A source says of Rose's current state: "He's a broken, powerful, old man surrounded by people who love him, but the truth is, he is desperately lonely." ALSO: The Hollywood Reporter criticized for giving Rose the "sob stories" treatment.

  # TOPICS: Charlie Rose, CBS, PBS, CBS News, Sexual Misconduct

• Posted Wednesday 4/11/18 at 1:11PM EDT Ali Wentworth jokes that husband George Stephanopoulos is the "last man standing" on morning TV

  Wentworth calls her husband of 17 years a "stand-up dude." Wentworth says when the Good Morning America anchor first heard about Matt Lauer's button, he wanted one for himself. "He thought it would be great because he could keep everyone out of his way and just do his work,” said Wentworth.

  # TOPICS: George Stephanopoulos, ABC, Good Morning America, Ali Wentworth, Charlie Rose, Matt Lauer, ABC News, Daytime TV, Sexual Misconduct

• Posted Wednesday 4/11/18 at 5:05AM EDT CBS News creates a "working group" to address workplace issues following the Charlie Rose scandal

  "We want to listen to your thoughts on workplace issues, to learn about practices and customs that are in our way, to find out what we're doing right and where we need to do better," said CBS News' Karen Raffensperger, the director of standards and practices, in an email to staffers about the initiative she is heading.

  # TOPICS: CBS News, Charlie Rose, Karen Raffensperger, Sexual Misconduct

• Posted Tuesday 4/10/18 at 7:15PM EDT James Franco's Hollywood Walk of Fame star defaced

  Somebody wrote "Douche" in red marker over Franco's Walk of Fame star for Franco. The Deuce star was accused in January of multiple instances of sexual harassment.

  # TOPICS: James Franco, HBO, The Deuce, Sexual Misconduct

• Posted Tuesday 4/10/18 at 1:35PM EDT Aziz Ansari made a rare public appearance last night, at a Knicks game with Chris Rock

  Three months after his sexual harassment scandal, the Master of None star was spotted at New York Knicks game with Rock, whom he later had dinner with, according to Rock's Instagram Stories.

  # TOPICS: Aziz Ansari, Netflix, Master of None, Chris Rock, Sexual Misconduct

• Posted Monday 4/09/18 at 11:33PM EDT Report: CBS executives are "freaking out" over an upcoming Charlie Rose bombshell story

  Page Six reports that The Washington Post, which broke the story of Rose's PBS sexual harassment scandal, has been spending months on a new story about Rose's alleged sexual misconduct at CBS. It was The Washington Post's story that resulted in Rose's immediate ouster from both his PBS and CBS jobs. "CBS has been using NDAs to try and suppress potential sources for an upcoming exposé about Charlie Rose’s sexual misconduct," reports Page Six. "And top network execs who worked on Rose’s shows are panicking that they’ll be accused of turning a blind eye to his sexual misconduct." Page Six notes that Late Show with Stephen Colbert executive producer Chris Licht is among the execs who are "terrified" over the looming report. Licht was previously CBS This Morning's executive producer. CBS News is also being accused of hypocrisy for using non-disclosure agreements to try to silence potential sources, while framing Stormy Daniels as brave for attempting to break her NDA on 60 Minutes.

  # TOPICS: Charlie Rose, CBS, PBS, CBS This Morning, Chris Licht, CBS News, Sexual Misconduct

• Posted Monday 4/09/18 at 11:33PM EDT Topless woman arrested at Bill Cosby trial says she recurred on The Cosby Show at age 12, but that wasn't why she was protesting

  Nicolle Rochelle says she would've protested Cosby regardless of whether she had worked previously worked with him.

  # TOPICS: Bill Cosby, The Cosby Show, Nicolle Rochelle, Sexual Misconduct

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