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Les Moonves leaves the Commission against sexual misconduct amid accusations of misconduct

CBS boss Les Moonves resigned from the commission led by Anita Hill to address the conduct sexual misconduct in the media and the entertainment industry after an expose of The New Yorker filed several accusations of misconduct against him.

The move came on Wednesday, the same day that the University of Southern California expelled Moonves from the advisory board of his film school and removed his name from a media center.

The deadline, which was the first to inform Moonves's departure from the commission, published a letter from Hill announcing the move.

"We will continue to develop approaches aimed at fostering a culture of respect and human dignity throughout the industry as the best way to eliminate harassment and other abuses of power," the letter said.

Moonves, the president and CEO of CBS, was hired in December to help create and fund the Commission to Eliminate Sexual Harassment and Promote Equality in the Workplace following the revelations of sexual harassment and abuse in Hollywood and the Hollywood industry. media.

The group is headed by Hill, who in 1991 alleged sexual harassment in the workplace by Clarence Thomas, and then waited to be confirmed as a judge of the Supreme Court. It was headed by prominent executive women, including Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm, and Maria Eitel, co-chair of the Nike Foundation.

Its stated mission is to "lead the entertainment industry towards alignment to achieve safer, fairer, more equitable and responsible workplaces, particularly for women and marginalized people." The executives of the largest media and entertainment companies, from Disney to Netflix, are involved.

Although Moonves has not announced any plans to leave CBS, his place in the commission became uncomfortable in the wake of the lawsuits against him.

Journalist Ronan Farrow, whose work helped launch the Me Too movement last year, detailed the accusations of six women in his story published on Friday. Several of the women said that Moonves attempted to kiss or touch them inappropriately during business meetings and that their careers suffered after the alleged incidents.

Actress Illeana Douglas said the executive began to "kiss her violently" after she rejected his advances during one of those meetings in 1997.

Last fall, Moonves spoke favorably about the Me Too movement after a large amount of sexual abuse and harassment allegations that arose against former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. The CBS executive told Variety that he saw the new consciousness as a "turning point" for the industry and that it was affecting the policies in its own network.

In response to the New Yorker article, Moonves in a statement acknowledged that "there were times when decades ago, when I could have made some women feel uncomfortable making advances"

" Those were mistakes, and I regret them immensely, "he said, while discussing the claims that he hampered any woman's career by rejecting him. He said he "always understood and respected" that "does not mean no."

CBS launched a third-party investigation into the allegations.

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