CBS chief executive Les Moonves is exiting the company, effective immediately, amid a flurry of sexual misconduct allegations.

The announcement on Sunday evening ends his 20-year tenure atop one of the country's most important media empires.

It also concludes a months-long battle for control of CBS between Moonves and the company's controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone. The CBS board is being reshaped, with six new directors, and Redstone is repeating her vow to consider new bids from potential buyers.

The shakeup may position CBS for a sale. But the company is also facing some continued reputational risk. There is widespread scrutiny about the prospect of Moonves being paid tens of millions of dollars on his way out the door.

Moonves is one of the media world's highest paid CEOs, so his severance package would normally be generous, even gargantuan.

But a huge payout to Moonves could stir shareholder ire in light of the disturbing harassment and assault allegations that have piled up against him.

With those optics in mind, CBS said Sunday night that Moonves and CBS will donate $20 million to organizations that support the #MeToo movement and other groups fighting for workplace equity for women.

The donation, which will be made immediately, will come out of any severance that Moonves might eventually be given.

Earlier in the day, a source said that Moonves stands to earn upward of $100 million.

But Sunday evening's announcement specified that any severance "will depend upon the results" of the ongoing internal investigations into his behavior.

In other words, the details and dollar amounts may not be determined for weeks or months.

The advocacy group Times Up said in a statement on Sunday afternoon, "We will accept nothing less than full transparency of the investigation's findings, a commitment to real change across all levels of CBS management and no reward for Les Moonves."

Boardroom battle and huge financial stakes

Sunday's developments are an extraordinary confluence of events — a boardroom battle royale and a #MeToo case at the C-suite level.

Moonves' allies will surely cast his exit as a corporate coup — a successful effort by Redstone to gain a tighter grip on CBS.

Redstone's allies will point to her position as controlling shareholder; accuse Moonves of plotting a jailbreak attempt; and cite the misconduct allegations.

The jailbreak happened earlier this year when Moonves and most members of the CBS board took steps to dilute Redstone's control. A blizzard of lawsuits and counter-suits ensued. A trial was set to start in October.

Through Sunday evening's settlement, all of those suits will be dismissed and CBS will return to some sense of normal corporate order.

Joseph Ianniello, who has been the CBS chief operating officer since 2013, will serve as president and acting CEO while the board looks for a new CEO.

On one level, this is a clear victory for Redstone, whose father Sumner Redstone bought CBS almost twenty years ago.

Moonves and Redstone were locked in a tug of war even before July 27, when Ronan Farrow of The New Yorker first reported on alleged harassment by Moonves. The CBS board initially resisted calls for Moonves to be suspended or forced out.

But his continued leadership of CBS became "untenable," an executive told CNN.

Moonves kept a relatively low profile in August, but remained in charge of the broadcasting behemoth. It is unclear when he first knew that he had to go.

Some sources close to Moonves said in August that he had vowed to fight both the allegations of wrongdoing and the legal war against Redstone.

But another source said he knew his exit was inevitable several months ago, even before Farrow's first story came out.

With settlement talks already underway, Farrow published a followup story on Sunday. He wrote that "six additional women have accused the television executive of sexual misconduct, as the board of the CBS Corporation weighs the terms of his departure."

Farrow said some of the women spoke out because they felt CBS was failing to take appropriate action against Moonves.

The CBS board had already hired two law firms to do an investigation. Now the firms have even more to examine.

Moonves is the first CEO of a Fortune 500 company to leave his job amid harassment allegations in the year since two investigations of Harvey Weinstein (one of them by Farrow) jump-started the #MeToo Movement.

In Farrow's first story, six women, some of whom were named, alleged harassment and other misconduct by Moonves and connected it to deeper problems at the company.

Some of the claims dated back several decades. Moonves acknowledged making mistakes in his past but said he never abused his power.

The accusations in the second story are even more serious.

'Serious allegations,' denials and ongoing investigations

"These are more numerous claims, these are six women all of them on the record, also describing more serious allegations," Farrow said on CNN's "Reliable Sources" shortly after The New Yorker published the followup. "This includes multiple allegations of either physically forced or coerced oral sex. It includes a case that resulted in a criminal investigation."

Moonves told Farrow in a statement that the "appalling accusations in this article are untrue."

He said he had consensual relations with three of the women named by The New Yorker "some 25 years ago before I came to CBS." He reiterated that he never abused his power and said he can only surmise that the allegations "are surfacing now for the first time, decades later, as part of a concerted effort by others to destroy my name, my reputation and my career."

Farrow had a different explanation.

He said on CNN that "these women are coming out now" because "they have been extraordinarily frustrated by what they perceive to be inaction on the part of CBS and its board. And that really is integral to what prompted this followup story."

While the law firms have been investigating, Moonves has been "allowed to stay and continue to run the company," a different outcome than many other "Me Too" cases, Farrow noted.

Farrow indicated that CBS has been aware of the new allegations for at least several days. "In the last week, as we reached out to CBS for comment," stories emerged about exit talks, Farrow said.

The Los Angeles Times reported on Wednesday night that CBS board members were talking about Moonves' potential exit. Discussions had focused on the size of a severance package, and on whether Moonves would move to a producer role, the Times reported.

"As of a couple of days ago, they were still talking about potentially letting him leave with a very generous exit package, up to the neighborhood of $100 million," Farrow said on CNN. "Many of the women found that very, very frustrating. They felt this was a board that has let a powerful man who makes a lot of money for this company, in the words of one person, 'get away with it.'"</s>NEW YORK (CNN Money) — CBS chief executive Les Moonves has resigned amid a flurry of sexual misconduct allegations, ending a 20-year tenure atop one of the country’s most important media empires.

The announcement Sunday evening also concludes a months-long battle for control of CBS between Moonves and the company’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone.

According to CBS, Moonves and CBS will donate $20 million to organizations that support the #MeToo movement and other groups fighting for workplace equity for women.

The donation, which will be made immediately, will come out of any severance that Moonves, one of the media world’s highest paid CEOs, might eventually be given. Any severance “will depend upon the results” of internal investigations into the harassment allegations, CBS said.

The departure of Moonves is effective immediately. Joseph Ianniello, who has been the CBS chief operating officer since 2013, will serve as president and acting CEO while the board of directors looks for a new CEO

Moonves and Redstone were locked in a tug of war even before July 27, when Ronan Farrow of The New Yorker first reported on alleged harassment by Moonves. The CBS board initially resisted calls for Moonves to be suspended or forced out.

But his continued leadership of CBS became “untenable,” an executive told CNN.

With settlement talks already underway, Farrow published a followup story on Sunday. He wrote that “six additional women have accused the television executive of sexual misconduct, as the board of the CBS Corporation weighs the terms of his departure.”

The CBS board had already hired two law firms to do an investigation. Now the firms have even more to examine.

Moonves’ allies will surely cast his exit as a corporate coup — a successful effort by Redstone to gain a tighter grip on CBS.

Redstone’s allies will point to her position as controlling shareholder; accuse Moonves of plotting a jailbreak attempt; and cite the misconduct allegations.

It is an extraordinary confluence of events — a boardroom battle royale and a #MeToo case at the C-suite level.

Moonves is the first CEO of a Fortune 500 company to leave his job amid harassment allegations in the year since two investigations of Harvey Weinstein (one of them by Farrow) jump-started the #MeToo Movement.

The financial stakes are huge. Moonves stands to earn upward of $100 million on his way out, but the compensation will be deferred until the harassment investigations are completed, some of the sources said.

The CBS board is expected to try to “claw back” at least some of that compensation if the investigation finds evidence of misconduct.

The details and dollar amounts may be litigated for months.

Farrow tweeted out that “he will no longer receive any exit compensation, pending outcome of investigation, and that a portion of those funds will go to #MeToo causes.”

That’s what advocacy groups like the Times Up initiative would like to see.

Times Up said in a statement on Sunday afternoon, “We will accept nothing less than full transparency of the investigation’s findings, a commitment to real change across all levels of CBS management and no reward for Les Moonves.”

Representatives for CBS and Redstone declined to comment, ahead of the official announcement.

The impending shakeup may position CBS for a sale.

CBS chief operating officer Joe Ianniello is expected to run the company on an interim basis.

Among other challenges, Ianniello will have to restore confidence in the culture of CBS.

In Farrow’s first story, six women, some of whom were named, alleged harassment and other misconduct by Moonves and connected it to deeper problems at the company.

Some of the claims dated back several decades. Moonves acknowledged making mistakes in his past but said he never abused his power. Of all the “Me Too” cases in the past year, this one stood out for several reasons, including the fact that Moonves is a powerful CEO of a major publicly-traded corporation.

Members of the CBS board of directors — the same directors who had been backing Moonves in the dispute with Redstone for months — did not suspend Moonves or force him to step down.

Instead, the board retained a pair of law firms to investigate the allegations.

Moonves kept a relatively low profile in August, but remained in charge of the broadcasting behemoth.

It is unclear when he first knew that he had to go.

Some sources close to Moonves said in August that he had vowed to fight both the allegations of wrongdoing and the legal war against Redstone.

But another source said he knew his exit was inevitable several months ago, even before Farrow’s first story came out.

The accusations in the second story are even more serious.

“These are more numerous claims, these are six women all of them on the record, also describing more serious allegations,” Farrow said on CNN’s “Reliable Sources” shortly after The New Yorker published the followup. “This includes multiple allegations of either physically forced or coerced oral sex. It includes a case that resulted in a criminal investigation.”

Moonves told Farrow in a statement that the “appalling accusations in this article are untrue.”

He said he had consensual relations with three of the women named by The New Yorker “some 25 years ago before I came to CBS.” He reiterated that he never abused his power and said he can only surmise that the allegations “are surfacing now for the first time, decades later, as part of a concerted effort by others to destroy my name, my reputation and my career.”

He said on CNN that “these women are coming out now” because “they have been extraordinarily frustrated by what they perceive to be inaction on the part of CBS and its board. And that really is integral to what prompted this followup story.”

While the law firms have been investigating, Moonves has been “allowed to stay and continue to run the company,” a different outcome than many other “Me Too” cases, Farrow noted.

CBS responded to the new story by saying in a statement, “CBS takes these allegations very seriously. Our board of directors is conducting a thorough investigation of these matters, which is ongoing.”

Farrow indicated that CBS has been aware of the new allegations for at least several days. “In the last week, as we reached out to CBS for comment,” stories emerged about exit talks, Farrow said.

The Los Angeles Times reported on Wednesday night that CBS board members were talking about Moonves’ potential exit. Discussions had focused on the size of a severance package, and on whether Moonves would move to a producer role, the Times reported.

Under the terms of his contract, Moonves would be owed almost $180 million if removed without “cause.” But if he is removed “for cause,” relating to the harassment allegations, for example, such an eye-popping severance package would not be in play.

“As of a couple of days ago, they were still talking about potentially letting him leave with a very generous exit package, up to the neighborhood of $100 million,” Farrow said on CNN. “Many of the women found that very, very frustrating. They felt this was a board that has let a powerful man who makes a lot of money for this company, in the words of one person, ‘get away with it.'”</s>Les Moonves, the CEO of CBS, will resign effective immediately amid a flurry of sexual misconduct allegations. The resignation comes on the same day that Ronan Farrow published an exposé on Moonves in the New Yorker, which described misconduct allegations from six additional women.

The first six women to accuse Moonves of misconduct came out in another article by Farrow on July 27. Both describe claims against the former CEO about incidents that allegedly occurred in the 1980s-2000s.

In a statement from CBS obtained by E! News, Moonves will "donate $20 million to one or more organizations that support the #MeToo movement and equality for women in the workplace" and it will be made "immediately."

Chief Operating Officer Joseph Ianniello will serve as the company's interim CEO and President. According to the statement, Moonves will not receive any immediate severance from CBS and the $20 million will be taken from any severance he does receive following an independent investigation.

According to the July report, four of the six women told Farrow about "forcible touching or kissing during business meetings" and described it as a "practiced routine." The remaining two women said Moonves "physically intimidated them or threatened to derail their careers."</s>CBS Chief Les Moonves resigned Sunday, just hours after six more women accused the long-time television executive of sexual misconduct.

The resignation is effective immediately, CBS said in a statement posted on its website Sunday night.

The New Yorker magazine reported the latest allegations included Moonves forcing women to perform oral sex and retaliating when advances were turned away. Moonves acknowledged relations with three of the women but said they were consensual, adding he had never used his position to hurt the careers of women.

READ MORE: CBS reportedly reaches exit deal with chief Les Moonves as 6 more women accuse him of assault

The network didn’t address the allegations directly, but said Moonves will donate $20 million to one or more organizations that support the #MeToo movement and equality for women in the workplace.

“The donation, which will be made immediately, has been deducted from any severance benefits that may be due Moonves,” the statement said.

CBS said the network’s chief operating officer, Joseph Ianniello, will take over Moonves’ duties as president and CEO until its board of directors can find a permanent replacement. For the time being Moonves’ role as chairman will remain vacant.

WATCH: CBS hires outside council to conduct investigation into Leslie Moonves allegations

Hours before Moonves’ resignation the New Yorker magazine reported sexual misconduct allegations from six additional women against Moonves, who was already under investigation for similar allegations made by six others.

As that investigation progressed it was widely reported that Moonves would leave the network shortly and was negotiating a severance package. CBS indicated Sunday, however, that no severance agreement has been reached.

“Moonves will not receive any severance benefits at this time (other than certain fully accrued and vested compensation and benefits); any payments to be made in the future will depend upon the results of the independent investigation and subsequent board evaluation,” the network’s statement said.

Moonves joined CBS as head of entertainment in 1995, and has been CEO of CBS Corp. since 2006, leading the CBS network, Showtime and other entities. CBS has spent much of his tenure as the nation’s most popular broadcast network, with hits such as “The Big Bang Theory” and “NCIS,” and its success has made Moonves one of the highest-paid and most powerful executives in the business.

One of Moonves’ accusers, Phyllis Golden-Gottlieb, also reported her accusations to Los Angeles police last year, but they weren’t pursued because the statute of limitations had expired. She said Moonves, while an executive at the Lorimar production studio in the late 1980s, pushed her head into his lap and forced her to perform oral sex.

At another time, she said an angry Moonves pushed her hard against a wall. When she resisted later advances, she began to be frozen out at the company, she said.

“He absolutely ruined my career,” she told the New Yorker.

WATCH: Stephen Colbert get honest about allegations levelled at ‘his guy’ Les Moonves

Another woman, Jessica Pallingston, said Moonves forced her to perform oral sex on her first day working as his assistant at Warner Bros. productions. Other women told the magazine of unwanted touching or advances.

In a statement to the magazine, Moonves said the “appalling accusations” are untrue, but he acknowledged consensual relations with three of the women before he started working at CBS.

“I have never used my position to hinder the advancement or careers of women,” he said. “In my 40 years of work, I have never before heard of such disturbing accusations. I can only surmise they are surfacing now for the first time, decades later, as part of a concerted effort by others to destroy my name, my reputation and my career. Anyone who knows me knows that the person described in this article is not me.”

The organization Time’s Up, which fights accusations of sexual misconduct, said the women had made “bone-chilling” accusations against Moonves. “We believe them,” Times’ Up said in a statement on Sunday.

Time’s Up said the CBS board has a responsibility to rid the company of a toxic culture toward women.

“Remember that the world is watching,” the statement said. “We will accept nothing less than full transparency of the investigation’s findings, a commitment to real change across all levels of CBS management and no reward for Les Moonves.”

Ianniello, who will be replacing Moonves on at least an interim basis, joined CBS ins 2005 and has been COO since 2013. He has steered top projects such as the CBS All Access and Showtime streaming services.</s>Leslie Moonves has resigned from his position as Chairman and CEO of CBS, the Los Angeles Times reports. The move comes the same day the New Yorker published a Ronan Farrow story detailing more allegations of sexual misconduct from Moonves, including forced oral sex and physical assault. It also comes the same day Vanity Fair published a story about Moonves kissing a doctor who had come to his office to treat him, then allegedly masturbating in front of her. Moonves has denied the new allegations, although he said he had “consensual relations” with three of the new accusers in the New Yorker story (without qualifying which three) and admitted to trying to kiss his doctor, but denied masturbating in front of her, sending the following statement to Vanity Fair through a representative:

CBS say it will be donating $20 million to organizations associated with the #MeToo movement this week, deducting it from any severance owed Moonves. The disgraced CEO was contractually entitled to receive as much as $180 million in an exit package, and Farrow told CNN on Sunday that as recently as earlier in the week, the network was discussing a golden parachute “in the neighborhood of $100 million.” Now CBS is putting severance payments on hold until a third-party investigation into the allegations is complete, at which point they will negotiate a settlement based on the severity of the allegations. The investigation is being run by Mary Jo White of Debevoise & Plimpton and Nancy Kestenbaum of Covington & Burling, both white-shoe firms.

Joseph Ianniello, the company’s COO and an 18-year CBS veteran, will be promoted to acting CEO while the network searches for a permanent replacement. CBS is reportedly considering bringing in an entertainment executive to assist him, as Ianniello lacks Moonves’ strong network of relationships with talent. Moonves has been in charge of the television network since 1995, and the CEO of the CBS Corporation since 2006. Last year, his compensation package was worth $69.3 million.</s>(Reuters) – Leslie Moonves, the top executive at CBS Corp since 2006 and a major figure at the broadcast network and media company for more than two decades, resigned yesterday amid a new wave of allegations against him of sexual assault and harassment.

His departure as chairman, CEO and president was confirmed by the company in a statement coinciding with its announcement of a deal to end litigation against majority CBS shareholder Shari Redstone and National Amusements Inc for control of CBS.

Chief Operating Officer Joe Ianiello will take over as interim CEO as the board searches for a replacement, according to the announcement. The settlements end years of uncertainty over the future of CBS and could potentially open the door to future deals.

The announcement came after six more women accused Moonves of sexual assault and harassment in a report published on Sunday in the New Yorker magazine. The newly disclosed incidents, which the women said occurred between the 1980s and early 2000s, included claims of forced sex, Moonves exposing himself and his alleged use of physical violence and intimidation.

Moonves, who turned CBS from an aging radio and TV broadcaster into a successful provider of shows to digital platforms, was expected to reap an estimated $100 million in severance. But Moonves, 68, could end up with nothing pending an investigation into the allegations of violence against women conducted by law firms hired by an independent committee of the CBS board of directors.

CBS said it and Moonves will donate $20 million of Moonves’ severance to organizations supporting the #MeToo movement.

“Today’s resolution will benefit all shareholders, allowing us to focus on the business of running CBS – and transforming it for the future,” Redstone said in a statement. “We are confident in Joe’s ability to serve as acting CEO and delighted to welcome our new directors, who bring valuable and diverse expertise and a strong commitment to corporate governance.”

National Amusements agreed to avoid pressing for a merger of CBS and Viacom, which is also controlled by National Amusements, for at least two years.

In earlier court filings, NAI had dropped support for a deal before it was sued in May by CBS for control of the company. The settlement does not preclude other parties from suggesting a merger or bringing other potential transactions to the board, one source said.

Five current independent directors and one National Amusement-affiliated director have stepped down from the board of directors and six new directors have been elected, the company said.

Three of the new board members are women, each considered a trailblazer in their respective fields, bringing the total to six on the 13-member board. They are: Candace Beinecke, a senior partner at international law firm Hughes Hubbard & Reed; Barbara Byrne, a retired vice chairman of investment banking at Barclays, and Susan Schuman, CEO of SYPartners, a business consultancy.

Also were to the board were: Richard Parsons, former chairman of Citigroup and Time Warner; Brian Goldner, CEO of Hasbro; and Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two Interactive.

CBS said the board will schedule its annual shareholders meeting no later than Nov. 30.

Reports of a potential big payout to Moonves drew fire from advocacy groups.

“CBS, as you sit in a room debating next steps to rectify the damage done, remember that the world is watching. We will accept nothing less than full transparency of the investigation’s findings, a commitment to real change across all levels of CBS management and no reward for Les Moonves,” Time’s Up, a campaign against workplace sexual misconduct, said in a statement.

CBS said details of the litigation settlement and the Moonves agreement will be disclosed in an upcoming regulatory filing.

Moonves could not immediately be reached to comment on Sunday after the latest claims. In a statement to the New Yorker, Moonves acknowledged three of the newly described encounters, but said they were consensual.

“The appalling accusations in this article are untrue,” Moonves told the New Yorker. “What is true is that I had consensual relations with three of the women some 25 years ago before I came to CBS. And I have never used my position to hinder the advancement or careers of women.”

CBS said on Sunday it takes such allegations very seriously.

“The CBS Board of Directors is committed to a thorough and independent investigation of the allegations, and that investigation is actively underway,” the media company’s board said in a statement.</s>Les Moonves, the longtime chairman and chief executive of CBS Corp. CBS, +2.98% , is set to resign Monday, according to multiple reports, following new sexual misconduct allegations against him from six additional women.

In a New Yorker expose published Sunday morning, reporter Ronan Farrow — who first detailed allegations of sexual assault and misconduct against Moonves six weeks ago — revealed six more women have accused Moonves of sexual harassment and sexual assault, dating from the 1980s to the early 2000s. Those include claims that Moonves forced them to perform oral sex without their consent, used physical violence and intimidation, and retaliated against them when his advances were rebuffed.

Just a few hours after that report was published, CNN reported that Moonves will step down as soon as Monday as part of a broader settlement for control of CBS. Moonves and Shari Redstone, the controlling owner of CBS, have been locked in bitter litigation for months.

“CBS takes these allegations very seriously. Our Board of Directors is conducting a thorough investigation of these matters, which is ongoing,” CBS said Sunday in a statement.

CNN reported Moonves could receive a $100 million payout, but that the company may try to “claw back” some of that if its independent investigation finds evidence he committed sexual misconduct.

However, CBS News later reported that Moonves’ exit package may be withheld entirely, pending the results of the investigation.CBS News also reported Moonves is expected to step down Monday.

The Wall Street Journal also reported Moonves will quit Monday, and said he could walk away with nothing if the investigation finds serious misconduct. The Journal also said that either way, a portion of his package would be donated to charities.

In a statement Sunday, Moonves admitted to three of the sexual encounters, but claimed they were consensual. “The appalling accusations in this article are untrue,” Moonves said. “What is true is that I had consensual relations with three of the women some 25 years ago before I came to CBS. And I have never used my position to hinder the advancement or careers of women. In my 40 years of work, I have never before heard of such disturbing accusations.”

In a statement, Time’s Up, an advocacy group formed by women in Hollywood to oppose inequality, harassment and sexual assault, said: “These allegations speak to a culture of toxic complicity at CBS, where the safety of women was continuously ignored to protect the careers of powerful men and the corporation. The CBS Board of Directors has an obligation to move swiftly and decisively to create a safe work environment for all and rid the company of this toxic culture.”

CBS shares are down about 5% year to date, compared to the S&P 500’s SPX, -0.22% gain of more than 7%.</s>(CNN Money) — Longtime CBS chief executive Les Moonves, facing new claims of sexual misconduct, will step down soon as part of a wide-ranging corporate settlement of a separate fight for control of CBS.

The CBS board of directors is likely to announce the deal by Monday morning, according to two executives with direct knowledge of the matter.

Lawyers were said to be putting the finishing touches on the settlement on Sunday. Internally, it is being called a “global settlement,” meant to resolve months of litigation between Moonves and Shari Redstone, the controlling shareholder of CBS.

Moonves and Redstone were locked in a tug of war even before July 27, when Ronan Farrow first reported on alleged harassment by Moonves.

Farrow published a followup on Sunday. He wrote that “six additional women have accused the television executive of sexual misconduct, as the board of the CBS Corporation weighs the terms of his departure.”

The CBS board had already hired two law firms to do an investigation.

Now that the exit deal has been reached, the veteran broadcasting executive will step down before those investigations are finished, one of the sources said.

Moonves’ allies will surely cast his exit as a corporate coup — a successful effort by Redstone to gain a tighter grip on CBS.

Her allies will point to her position as controlling shareholder and accuse Moonves of plotting a jailbreak attempt.

It is an extraordinary confluence of events — a boardroom battle royale and a #MeToo case at the C-suite level.

The impending shakeup may position CBS for a sale. And the financial stakes are huge. Moonves stands to earn upward of $100 million on his way out, but CBS is expected to try to “claw back” at least some of that compensation if the investigation finds evidence of misconduct.

Representatives for CBS and Redstone declined to comment on Sunday on talks about Moonves’ future at the company.

In Farrow’s first story, six women, some of whom were named, alleged harassment and other misconduct by Moonves. Some of the claims dated back several decades.

Moonves acknowledged making mistakes in his past but said he never abused his power. Of all the “Me Too” cases in the past year, this one stood out for several reasons, including the fact that Moonves is a powerful CEO of a major publicly-traded corporation.

Members of the CBS board of directors — the same directors who had been backing Moonves in the dispute with Redstone for months — did not suspend Moonves or force him to step down.

Instead, the board retained a pair of law firms to investigate the allegations.

Moonves kept a relatively low profile in August, but remained in charge of the broadcasting behemoth.

It is unclear when he first knew that he had to go.

Some sources close to Moonves said in August that he had vowed to fight both the allegations of wrongdoing and the legal war against Redstone.

But another source said he knew his exit was inevitable several months ago, even before Farrow’s first story came out.

The accusations in the second story are even more serious.

“These are more numerous claims, these are six women all of them on the record, also describing more serious allegations,” Farrow said on CNN’s “Reliable Sources” shortly after The New Yorker published the followup. “This includes multiple allegations of either physically forced or coerced oral sex. It includes a case that resulted in a criminal investigation.”

Moonves told Farrow in a statement that the “appalling accusations in this article are untrue.”

He said he had consensual relations with three of the women named by The New Yorker “some 25 years ago before I came to CBS.” He reiterated that he never abused his power and said he can only surmise that the allegations “are surfacing now for the first time, decades later, as part of a concerted effort by others to destroy my name, my reputation and my career.”

He said on CNN that “these women are coming out now” because “they have been extraordinarily frustrated by what they perceive to be inaction on the part of CBS and its board. And that really is integral to what prompted this followup story.”

While the law firms have been investigating, Moonves has been “allowed to stay and continue to run the company,” a different outcome than many other “Me Too” cases, Farrow noted.

CBS responded to the new story by saying in a statement, “CBS takes these allegations very seriously. Our board of directors is conducting a thorough investigation of these matters, which is ongoing.”

Farrow indicated that CBS has been aware of the new allegations for at least several days. “In the last week, as we reached out to CBS for comment,” stories emerged about exit talks, Farrow said.

The Los Angeles Times reported on Wednesday night that CBS board members were talking about Moonves’ potential exit. Discussions had focused on the size of a severance package, and on whether Moonves would move to a producer role, the Times reported.

Under the terms of his contract, Moonves would owed almost $180 million if removed without “cause.” But if he is removed “for cause,” relating to the harassment allegations, for example, such an eye-popping severance package would not be in play.

“As of a couple of days ago, they were still talking about potentially letting him leave with a very generous exit package, up to the neighborhood of $100 million,” Farrow said on CNN. “Many of the women found that very, very frustrating. They felt this was a board that has let a powerful man who makes a lot of money for this company, in the words of one person, ‘get away with it.'”</s>CBS CEO Leslie Moonves has stepped down after six more women accused him of sexual misconduct and intimidation in a bombshell investigation published Sunday by The New Yorker.

CBS made the departure announcement early Sunday evening and said that Moonves and the company will donate $20 million to organizations that support the #MeToo movement. That money will be deducted from any Moonves severance package, which will be determined after an external investigation into the misconduct allegations reveals its findings.

Joseph Ianniello, the chief operating officer, has been appointed president and acting CEO.

A previous New Yorker report detailed accusations from six other women, and CBS launched an investigation last month.

The latest report by Pulitzer Prize winner Ronan Farrow includes allegations that Moonves, 68, forced oral sex, exposed himself, committed violent acts and derailed careers in incidents that occurred from the 1980s to the early 2000s.

In the new report, the accusers, who give their names, describe a range of damning actions.

Phyllis Golden-Gottlieb, who was a Moonves colleague at Lorimar-Telepictures studio in the 1980s, describes an incident in 1986 in which she says Moonves forced her to perform oral sex.

She says Moonves suggested going to lunch on a work day, but instead drove to a secluded area where he "grabbed my head and he took it all the way down onto his penis, and pushed his penis into my mouth.”

Late last year, as the #MeToo movement rose to call out and fight back against perpetrators of sexual harassment and assault, Golden-Gottlieb filed a complaint with the Los Angeles Police Department. Farrow writes that law enforcement sources found her allegation credible, but the statute of limitations had expired.

In later incidents, Golden-Gottlieb says Moonves left his office and returned not wearing pants and that he threw her against a wall. Other women describe forced kissing, groping, propositions, with many of the encounters taking place during work time, as well as later efforts to harm careers.

Writer Linda Silverthorn, who says she had consensual sexual encounters with Moonves when she was an assistant and he was a vice president at 20th Century Fox, tells Farrow she was harassed when she arrived for a business meeting six years later, in 1990, at Warner Bros., where Moonves was an executive.

Silverthorn, who was hoping to secure a development deal, says before the conversation started, “he kissed me while we were standing up. … And then he just pulled his penis out.” She called the action “unwelcome” and said their earlier encounters did not “allow him to just grab me and pull his penis out on me when I’m there for a legitimate business meeting.”

Later, she says, Moonves told her the studio had no work opportunities for her.

Deborah Kitay, who gave Moonves massages when she worked as a massage therapist in the 1990s, says Moonves exposed himself to her and asked her to touch his penis.

In addition to the six accusers named in the story, Farrow reports that massage therapists at Washington's Four Seasons hotel in D.C. complained of sexual misconduct by Moonves in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

"It was quite a few times that those women would come back and say, ‘I’m never going up there again,’ ” Debra Williams, who was then spa director, tells Farrow, adding that a hotel official warned Moonves to stop the behavior.

USA TODAY has reached out to Daniel Petrocelli, Moonves' lawyer, for comment on the report.

Moonves, in a statement to The New Yorker, acknowledged three encounters before his tenure at CBS, but said they were consensual and added: “The appalling accusations in this article are untrue. … And I have never used my position to hinder the advancement or careers of women. … I can only surmise they are surfacing now for the first time, decades later, as part of a concerted effort by others to destroy my name, my reputation, and my career."

USA TODAY, which asked CBS for comment on the new allegations and for confirmation of reports that Moonves will leave the company, received this statement on Sunday from CBS Corporation: “CBS takes these allegations very seriously. Our Board of Directors is conducting a thorough investigation of these matters, which is ongoing.”

Time's Up, a group that combats sexual assault, harassment and inequality in the workplace, issued a statement after the news broke Sunday: "Six more women have made bone-chilling allegations of abuse, harassment and retaliation against Les Moonves. We believe them. … These allegations speak to a culture of toxic complicity at CBS, where the safety of women was continuously ignored to protect the careers of powerful men and the corporation. The CBS Board of Directors has an obligation to move swiftly and decisively to create a safe work environment for all and rid the company of this toxic culture."

CBS hired two outside law firms to conduct an independent investigation shortly after the allegations broke in the original New Yorker story. Speculation about Moonves' departure rose last week with news reports that the executive was in negotiations to leave with a potential payout of $100 million.

The accusations and investigation take place in a time of corporate ferment, as CBS and Moonves have been waging a legal battle to prevent a merger with another media giant, Viacom. There has been much speculation that the fate of Moonves could affect that matter.</s>CBS CEO Les Moonves is expected to step down from his position at the company within the next 24 hours, according to multiple reports.

New allegations of sexual misconduct involving Moonves surfaced Sunday morning in another New Yorker report by Ronan Farrow.

In Farrow's latest report six more women accuse Moonves of sexual harassment including claims that he exposed himself to them without their consent and used violence and intimidation against them.

In a statement to the New Yorker, Moonves said he had "consensual relations with three of the women some 25 years ago" before going to CBS.

"In my 40 years of work, I have never before heard of such disturbing accusations. I can only surmise they are surfacing now for the first time, decades later, as part of a concerted effort by others to destroy my name, my reputation, and my career. Anyone who knows me knows that the person described in this article is not me,” Moonves told the New Yorker.

Multiple outlets including CNN, the Chicago Tribune and Variety, reported Moonves' tenure at CBS is expected to end Monday.

Last week there were reports he might leave CBS with an exit package worth around $100 million.
Les Moonves resigns as CEO of CBS Corporation amid reports of sexual misconduct allegations and an ongoing investigation into his behavior. CBS donates $20 million to groups supporting the Me Too movement and states that this money may be deducted from Moonves' severance package depending on the investigation's results.