(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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
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.