CBS Suspends Charlie Rose, PBS Halts His Show Following Allegations Of Unwanted Sexual Advances

SACRAMENTO (CBS13/AP) — TV newsman Charlie Rose is accused of sexual harassment, groping and lewd conduct.

The Washington Post is reporting that eight women have come forward claiming rose made unwanted sexual advances toward them including lewd phone calls and walking around naked.

Three women went on the record in the Post's deeply-reported story. Reah Bravo, a former associate producer for Rose's PBS show who began working for him in 2007, told the newspaper: "He was a sexual predator, and I was his victim."

The incidents allegedly happened between the 1990s and 2011 and involved work for the "Charlie Rose Show" on PBS.

Rose told the Post that he was "deeply embarrassed" and apologized for his behavior.

He tweeted this statement today:

In my 45 years of journalism, I have prided myself on being an advocate for the careers of the women with whom I have worked. Nevertheless, in the past few days, claims have been made about my behavior toward some former female colleagues.

It is essential that these women know I hear them and that 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.

I have learned a great deal as a result of these events, and I hope others will too. All of us, including me, are coming to a newer and deeper recognition of the pain caused by conduct in the past, and have come to a profound new respect for women and their lives.

Rose's PBS show features his in-depth interviews with newsmakers. The 75-year-old journalist is one of three hosts of "CBS This Morning" and is also a contributor to "60 Minutes."

PBS says it is immediately halting distribution of Charlie Rose's interview program and CBS News suspended him.

Bravo said Rose groped her on multiple occasions and once, during a business trip to Indiana, called her to his hotel room where he emerged from a shower naked.

Kyle Godfrey-Ryan, one of Rose's former assistants, was 21 when she said Rose repeatedly called her to describe his fantasies of her swimming naked at the pool at his Long Island home while he watched from his bedroom.

Rose's interview show is seen in 94 percent of the country on PBS stations. It is rebroadcast on Bloomberg's cable network, which also announced Monday it was suspending the show. He interviews a wide circle of people in the media, politics and entertainment - this month including Harvard President Drew Faust, rapper Macklemore and the Post's Robert Costa, who talked about that paper's sexual harassment investigation of Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore.

He also hosts "CBS This Morning" with Gayle King and Norah O'Donnell, a critically-acclaimed morning news programs which has been gaining the past few years on its better-known rivals. Rose also conducts interviews for "60 Minutes."