CBS entertainment chief Kelly Kahl says harassment allegations at the company ‘need to be taken seriously’

CBS’ TV entertainment chief went on the defensive Sunday in response to explosive allegations of sexual harassment that have roiled the company and threatened to end the reign of his longtime boss Leslie Moonves. All allegations need to be and are being taken seriously.” Kahl is the first CBS executive to speak in a public forum about the matter since the company was shaken by a New Yorker magazine report that said its chief executive allegedly harassed six women, in several cases forcibly kissing them in incidents that mostly date back to the 1980s and ’90s. The story also said management tolerated harassment and misbehavior at the network’s prestigious newsmagazine “60 Minutes.” The report led the CBS board of directors to hire two law firms to investigate the allegations and the workplace culture at the company. Kahl was pressed on the division’s handling of Brad Kern, the executive producer of the CBS series “NCIS: New Orleans,” who remained on the program after the company’s 2016 investigation of allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior on the set of his show. I’m told we will have results soon.” Separately, Jeff Fager, the embattled executive producer of “60 Minutes,” is extending his vacation amid a review into the workplace culture of CBS News.