Former CBS CEO Les Moonves will not be receiving his $120 million severance, but he will hopefully continue receiving mockery from the network's own Stephen Colbert.
On Tuesday's Late Show, Colbert spent a chunk of his monologue responding to this week's report that Moonves—who is alleged to have sexually harassed or assaulted multiple women—would not be receiving the money due to his apparent lack of cooperation with the resulting investigation. "There is news about former CBS chairman and Reason We All Have to Go Through Sensitivity Training, Les Moonves," Colbert told his audience. "You'll recall that Moonves left CBS after allegations of sexual harassment and assault. CBS investigated the claims and determined that Les Moonves will not receive his $120 million severance."
After joking that the $120 million would now go to him, Colbert continued: "Investigators said Moonves should forfeit the severance in part because of his 'willful failure to cooperate fully with the company's investigation,'" he said. "How on Earth did Les Moonves think he'd get away with that? Every show he greenlit for the last 20 years was about investigations. On the bright side, CBS now has enough material for a new procedural, NCIS: Human Resources."
Colbert previously mocked Moonves back in September following the publication of Ronan Farrow's second exposé on the ex-network CEO.
In a statement to the New York Times Monday, a CBS board rep announced that investigators had decided on outright termination. "We have determined that there are grounds to terminate for cause, including his willful and material misfeasance, violation of company policies and breach of his employment contract, as well as his willful failure to cooperate fully with the company’s investigation," the rep said.
