Charlie Rose sued for allegedly asking employees to have sex with each other

Over two dozen women have accused television host Charlie Rose of sexual harassment, and now, three of them are taking Rose and CBS to court.

Katherine Brooks Harris, Sydney McNeal, and Yuqing “Chelsea” Wei all worked with Rose at CBS at points between 2016 and 2018, and their lawsuit, filed May 4 in a New York state court, details some of the horrifying alleged harassment they experienced and the ensuing professional retaliation they say they endured for reporting it.

The suit alleges Rose touched the women sexually on their “arms, shoulders, waist and back, pulling them close to his body, and kissing them on the cheek.” He also suggested Harris and McNeal have sex with each other, the suit alleges, telling them, “You just need to become lovers already.”

The suit also alleges that Rose referred to Wei as “China doll,” and caressed her when she handed him papers, saying, “I love the way you do that.”

The women also detail incidents of verbal abuse, alleging Rose told Harris she lacked talent and that, “I didn’t know that I hired a fucking kindergartner.” Wei and McNeal also say Rose called them “fucking idiots.”

PBS and Bloomberg LP stopped distribution of the “Charlie Rose” show, and CBS fired Rose, after a November 2017 Washington Post article detailed allegations of harassment from eight women. The complaints included at least five allegations of unwanted touching; another woman said he forced her to see him naked.

Rose apologized shortly after the incident and has not publicly commented since.

But the story has continued to gather momentum: 27 women came forward to say Rose sexually harassed them in a Washington Post article yesterday.

The women suing CBS say the mistreatment didn’t stop once Rose was ousted. Harris and McNeal said they were let go by the network in November after Rose was fired, and weren’t offered other jobs at the company. Wei said that after making a complaint, she was demoted and suffered medical problems because of her treatment.

Cover image: Charlie Rose attends The Paley Center for Media Presents: The News is Back: CBS This Morning And The Morning Landscape at The Paley Center for Media on November 1, 2017 in New York City. Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images.