CBS and a hired law firm were forced to settle with an actress for millions of dollars after her sexual harassment claims against former executive Les Moonves were leaked, it was reported Wednesday.
The settlement with Bobbie Phillips, who has appeared in movies and on television, was reached after CBS hired two law firms to investigate sexual misconduct allegations made by several women at the network against Moonves, Vanity Fair reported Wednesday.
Debevoise & Plimpton, and Covington & Burling were the prominent law firms hired by the network.
A draft report of the investigation was leaked to The New York Times in 2018. The information divulged included Phillips’ allegation Moonves forced her to perform oral sex on him in a 1995 meeting, per the New York Post.
CBS and Covington were forced to pay Phillips “rumored in the tens of millions,” according to Vanity Fair, because they breached her confidentiality agreement by letting the information leak to the newspaper.
A Debevoise & Plimpton spokesperson said the firm was not party to any agreements with any parties concerning its work for CBS.
Moonves, the former CBS CEO, was forced to step down in 2018 after a New Yorker reporter Ronan Farrow published an article detailing sexual harassment allegations leveled against him.
According to the Times report in 2018, Moonves allegedly dropped his pants in front of Phillips, grabbed her by the neck, and forced her to perform oral sex on him in the 1995 encounter.
The actress was able to break free by grabbing a baseball bat after a phone call interrupted Moonves.
Longtime Hollywood agent Marv Dauer, who represented Phillips, was told by Moonves, “if Bobbie talks, I’m finished,” the Times reported.
Dauer told Vanity Fair he was aware Phillips had reached a settlement over the leak of the investigation.
Phillips has appeared in shows such as “Boy Meets World,” “The X-Files,” and “Baywatch.”
Source: Newmax
