Disgraced former CBS chairman Les Moonves isn’t making life easy for his wife Julie Chen, who begins hosting the second season of Celebrity Big Brother on Monday.
Moonves announced today he is challenging the decision made by the CBS board to withhold his $120 million severance package.
On Dec. 17, after a months-long investigation into whether Moonves had sexually harassed several women over the course of decades, CBS announced that there were grounds to fire him with cause.
Specifically, CBS said at the time that Moonves willfully violated both company policy and his employment agreement and failed to cooperate with the investigation led by two law firms hired by the company.
Although CBS didn’t make public the investigatory report, The New York Times reported last month that the CBS CEO “engaged in multiple acts of serious nonconsensual sexual misconduct in and outside of the workplace,” deliberately lied during the course of the investigation and even destroyed evidence in an attempt to preserve his reputation.
Lawyers for CBS found that the network would be justified in denying Moonves an otherwise-owed $120 million severance payout because he destroyed evidence and misled investigators looking into accusations of sexual misconduct, according to the Times, which cited a draft of a report prepared for the company’s board.
The disgraced media mogul was accused of sexual misconduct by six women in a New Yorker article written by Ronan Farrow last July.
Six more women came forward in September.
Moonves resigned as CEO of CBS in September, following a two-month investigation but has denied all accusations.
Upon CBS’ announcement, Moonves’ attorney, Andrew Levander, issued a statement that characterized the decision as “foreordained” and “without merit,” adding that Moonves “vehemently denies any nonconsensual sexual relations and cooperated extensively and fully with investigators.”
The arbitration will occur as CBS hunts for a new CEO and as questions continue to linger about the future of Julie Chen at the network.
Chen Moonves, 48, resigned as co-host of The Talk back in September.
She remains employed at CBS, and will host Celebrity Big Brother through February, but there is growing speculation that it will be her last show at the network.
CBS insiders believe there is no way Chen Mooves will stay at the network with her husband challenging his sexual harassment allegations.
ABC may be interested in pursuing Chen, with many believing she would be the perfect replacement for Barbara Walters, who spent years at ABC as the face of entertainment and interviews.
Celebrity Big Brother premieres Monday night on CBS.
The cast was announced last week.