Colbert: ‘I’m not surprised’ Les Moonves exited CBS

Late-night CBS host Stephen Colbert on Monday night said he is “not surprised” that network chief Les Moonves had to step down following new accusations of sexual misconduct.

“The head of this network, Leslie Moonves, was forced to step down yesterday,” Colbert said during his show’s opening monologue. Moonves resigned on Sunday amid increasing accusations of sexual misconduct.

{mosads}”This came after a second Ronan Farrow exposé featuring more women accusing him of sexual harassment and assault,” Colbert said, referencing Farrow’s second New Yorker article published on Sunday, which included accusations from six women. 

Moonves has now been accused of sexual harassment and assault by a total of 13 women.

“The article is extremely disturbing and I’m not surprised that that’s it,” Colbert said of Moonves’ exit. “Les Moonves is gone.” 

Prior to the second article, Moonves was negotiating an exit package from the network worth millions of dollars.

“It’s never a good sign when there’s a subject of a Ronan Farrow double-dip,” Colbert said. Farrow is best known currently for his reporting that toppled media mogul Harvey Weinstein, who was accused of sexual misconduct by dozens of women. 

Colbert joked Moonves was gone “for at least nine months until he does a set at the Comedy Cellar,” a crack at Louis C.K., who recently performed his first stand-up routine in months after admitting to exposing himself and masturbating in front of multiple women without their consent.  

Colbert, after Farrow’s first New Yorker report, which documented allegations from six women and described a culture of impunity at CBS, said he “like[d] working for Moonves.”

“I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I do believe in accountability, and not just for politicians you disagree with, [but also with] my guy,” he said at the time.

He said Moonves “stood behind this show while we were struggling to find our voice” and “gave us the time and the resources to succeed and he has stood by us when people were mad at me, and I like working for him.” 

“But accountability is meaningless unless it’s for everybody – whether it’s the leader of a network or the leader of the free world,” Colbert said.

CBS announced over the weekend that Moonves will not receive money from his severance package until investigations into the allegations against him are complete.