Charlie Rose Avoids Sex Harassment Trial

Former TV host Charlie Rose has resolved a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by three women in the wake of his #MeToo-era ouster from CBS News in 2017 and the cancellation of his long-running, eponymous PBS talk show, per the AP. In settling, the plaintiffs said they assign no "ill intent" to Rose and realize now that his conduct could be subject to interpretation. Lawyers for Rose and the women—younger employees who accused him of "predatory behavior" and "blatant and repeated sexual harassment"—filed court papers this week confirming that the lawsuit has been resolved. An online court docket listed the case as settled. The terms were not disclosed.

The lawsuit had been set to go to trial Monday in Manhattan after years of sparring over the women's allegations and the dismissal of their retaliation claims against Rose. Plaintiffs Katherine Brooks Harris, Sydney McNeal and Yuqing Wei said in a statement that the litigation process and the required pretrial exchange of evidence known as discovery had enabled both sides to "better understand each others' points of view." "On reflection, and after having the benefit of discovery, we realize that different people could interpret the conduct in different ways, and therefore we have resolved the claims," the women said. "We do not assign any bad motive or ill intent to Charlie Rose." CBS settled in December 2018 for an undisclosed sum.

A lawyer for Rose, 82, and his production company, Charlie Rose Inc., declined comment. The veteran TV host has apologized in the past for his behavior, including in a statement on the eve of his November 2017 firing after at least eight women had come forward to accuse him of misconduct. "It is essential that these women know I hear them and I deeply apologize for my inappropriate behavior," Rose said. "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." Rose is now hosting an interview show on YouTube. (More Charlie Rose stories.)