The fallout from the Les Moonves sexual misconduct scandal has reached the Emmys.
Moonves — the longtime chairman and CEO of CBS who was forced to step down on Sept. 9 in the wake of multiple sexual assault allegations — is not invited to tonight's 70th Annual Primetime Emmys ceremony in Los Angeles, TMZ reports.
CBS made the call, sources with direct knowledge of the decision tell TMZ, deciding that under the spectre of the scandal, it wouldn't give any of its ticket allotment for the Sept. 17 show to Mooves, who led the network to 18 Emmy nominations this year.
A network insider, however, tells TMZ the whole thing is a "non-issue" because Moonves actually hasn't attended the Emmys in many years anyway.
In August and early September, The New Yorker published stories by journalist Ronan Farrow in which a total of 12 women detailed sexual assault and harassment allegations against Moonves over the decades. The executive, 68, has denied their claims.
"The appalling accusations in this article are untrue," Moonves said in a statement following the publication of the second story on Sept. 9. "What is true is that I had consensual relations with three of the women some 25 years ago before I came to CBS. And I have never used my position to hinder the advancement or careers of women. In my 40 years of work, I have never before heard of such disturbing accusations."
Moonves is now out at CBS, which has launched an investigation. As part of an initial agreement concerning his departure, both the network and the embattled exec are immediately donating $20 million to organizations that support the #MeToo movement. In addition, Moonves isn't getting any severance benefits outside of what CBS has called "certain fully accrued and vested compensation and benefits." How much more he does or doesn't get depends on the outcome of the investigation.
Moonves' wife, CBS star Julie Chen, continues to stand by her husband. Following an initial statement of support in August, she made it clear nothing has changed when, on Sept. 13, she signed off from that night's episode of "Big Brother" with, "From outside the 'Big Brother' house with Brett, I am Julie Chen Moonves. Good night." It's the first time she's used her husband's last name when signing off.