Les Moonves — CBS Chief and Ben Gurion’s Great-Nephew — Accused of Sexual Misconduct

Les Moonves, Chief of CBS Image by Getty Images

By Jenny Singer July 27, 2018

Leslie Moonves, the CEO of CBS, isn’t someone you’ll see in movie theaters or tabloids, but he is one of the biggest power brokers in Hollywood. The Hollywood Reporter has found that Moonves will be accused of sexual misconduct Friday afternoon in a reported piece in the New Yorker by celebrated investigative journalist Ronan Farrow.

Though the New Yorker refused to comment on the piece and it has not gone live on its digital site as of the publication of this article, The Hollywood Reporter learned that it will cite accusations of Moonves’ non-consensual behavior, with an instance as far back as 20 years ago, as well as others in more recent times. CBS has already stated that the network will be investigating these claims. Independent of the alleged Moonves misconduct story, Moonves is currently embroiled in a major battle over control of the company with the CBS vice-chair Shari Redstone, which has divided the board. CBS stock has tumbled since news that Farrow’s story would break on Friday.

Bizarrely, Moonves, who began his career as an actor, is the great-nephew of Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion. He revealed at an honors ceremony this March at the Simon Weisenthal Center that his grandfather was the sister of Paula Ben Gurion, the great visionary’s wife.

These are bizarre, uncomfortable times. We hope the truth will emerge — for the sake of any of the women Moonves allegedly harmed, and for the sake of Ben Gurion’s memory.

Jenny Singer is the deputy lifestyle editor for the Forward. You can reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @jeanvaljenny

Jenny Singer is a freelance writer with pieces in Vox, the Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, Teen Vogue, and more. She was previously a staff writer at Glamour and the Forward, and she’s currently getting an MFA in nonfiction writing at the University of Iowa.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO