Former CBS CEO Les Moonves, who resigned in September following reports on serious allegations of sexual misconduct, is the subject of a new exposé detailing efforts between him and a Hollywood manager to silence one accuser in particular.

According to The New York Times, the woman in question was actress Bobbie Phillips, who spoke out in an interview with a disturbing account of what happened when she met with Moonves in 1995:

Mr. Moonves led her to an easel that showed the status of various Warner Bros. productions. She examined it, then turned to face him. “Look how hard you make me,” Mr. Moonves said. She saw that he had undone his trousers, exposing his erect penis.

“Be my girlfriend and I’ll put you on any show,” he said, in Ms. Phillips’s recollection — and then grabbed her by the neck, pushed her to her knees and forced his penis into her mouth.

In a statement, Moonves acknowledges there was a “sexual encounter,” but that he “strongly” believes it was consensual.

Following that meeting, Phillips spoke to her manager Marv Dauer, who confirms that “I didn’t want to push her, but she told me he violated her… He must have done something awful.”

Fast-forward to 2017, when the Times says one of their reporters reached out to Dauer to ask about allegations against Moonves. Days later, he emailed Moonves that they needed to talk. Moonves called him and they discussed Phillips, and the subject of buying her silence by getting her a job was broached:

In the version Mr. Moonves provided to outside lawyers for CBS, Mr. Dauer told him reporters were calling about Ms. Phillips and that she was “making noises” and “always looking for work.” A spokesman for Mr. Moonves, Chris Giglio, said Mr. Dauer pressured Mr. Moonves to get jobs for Ms. Phillips and his other clients.

In Mr. Dauer’s telling, he was simply trying to alert Mr. Moonves about the media calls. In an interview and a sworn declaration, he said it was Mr. Moonves who broached the idea of doing something — finding her acting work — to “make amends” to Ms. Phillips. (Mr. Giglio denied Mr. Moonves ever said that.) Mr. Moonves told Mr. Dauer that he was bracing for an article about his sexual conduct.

“I think I’ll be O.K.,” Mr. Moonves said, according to Mr. Dauer’s sworn statement. “But if Bobbie talks, I’m done.”

The Times report details the many text messages they exchanged following that conversation, including Dauer telling Moonves more than once that the Times was attempting to contact him again.

They also talked about getting a role for Phillips, and earlier this year a casting director apparently reached out to Dauer to say CBS was “interested” in bringing her in for a guest role on the upcoming series Blood and Treasure.

The job paid $1,500 for a day of shooting. She turned it down. Dauer said to the Times, “I don’t quite know how to put this, but let’s say that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

You can and should read the full report here.

[image via screengrab]

from Mediaite https://ift.tt/2E4K6ke