Woman Alleges Senior CBS Employee Advised Her to ‘Have Sex’ with Colleague to Advance Career
As the network continues to take PR hits over the disturbing allegations against former host Charlie Rose, CBS News now has another sexual harassment claim to confront, as a former producer has filed a suit suggesting the harassment problems extended beyond the star’s dressing room.
Ex-CBS employee Erin Gee — who worked at the network for 17 years — claimed CBS Evening News boss Robert Klug advised her to “have sex” with a colleague to handle their workplace disputes. As reported by the New York Post, court documents state Klug told Gee that she “should ‘have sex’ with [the] video editor who had been difficult to work with to ‘break the ice.'”
“I couldn’t believe that was his advice. I was looking for help, and he looked at me like, ‘You don’t matter, and this is what you should do to make this guy like you,'” added Gee.
Despite reportedly approaching another higher up to state her concerns over the sexual harassment, Gee noted that “nothing was done.” In a similarly disturbing development, Klug went on to receive a promotion from the station despite Gee’s attempts to expose his misconduct, while her career took a hit after the incident.
“All I wanted was the same opportunities that were being given to the men. In my nearly 20 years at CBS, I never saw a female director direct the evening news… My situation demonstrates why woman are afraid to speak up. When they do, they’re often punished for it,” Gee added — implying that the reason she was downgraded from her post at CBS was due to reporting her concerns.
While she left the network and moved to a different media job, Gee is now taking legal action against CBS in a suit that lists unspecified damages.
[image via screengrab]
