WITH AN ASTERISK

Les Moonves Will Get $120M From CBS—but Only if Probe Clears Him

Severance deal depending on results of internal investigation due Jan. 31, 2019.

CBS announced Monday that it could pay disgraced ex-Chief Executive Leslie Moonves as much as $120 million in severance—depending on the results of an internal investigation into his alleged misconduct. The announcement came a day after six more women accused him of sexual misconduct and Moonves stepped down from his role at the company. Reuters reports the settlement will be placed in a trust within the next 30 days. CBS’s board said it would resolve its investigation by Jan. 31, 2019. The company also said Sunday that it would donate $20 million to organizations that support the #MeToo movement, and that the donation would be deducted from the money Moonves receives, if any. The Sunday allegations in a New Yorker report, which accelerated Moonves’ rumored departure, included claims of forced oral sex and physical violence. Moonves maintains that while he had consensual sexual relationships with some of his accusers before arriving at CBS, the other allegations are false and “disturbing.”