Fired CBS host Charlie Rose may have been behind the ousting of his colleague Josh Elliott earlier this year.
Elliott was a potential heir to the CBS This Morning show, which Rose co-hosted alongside Gayle King and Norah O’Donnell.
But Elliott was let go by CBS News in February. Now the network has been left without big-name talent following numerous sexual harassment allegations against Rose.
Fired CBS host Charlie Rose may have been behind the ousting of his colleague Josh Elliott earlier this year. Elliott (right in 2016) was a potential heir to the CBS This Morning show
A source told PageSix that ‘Josh was ousted by Charlie and his monstrous ego. Charlie flattered Josh to his face, invited him to cover on his PBS show, then stabbed him in the back by issuing an ultimatum to [CBS News President] David Rhodes, who has made a huge mistake.
‘CBS would be in a very different place if they’d kept Josh on . . . They’ve got no big names and nobody to step up and save them amid this crisis.’
The source told PageSix that Rose felt Elliott was making a play for his job ‘at a weak moment,’ referring to Rose, who was off-air at the time because he had heart surgery.
‘Because of Charlie, they cut Josh off at the knees. Josh was the last man on the bench. He had the experience and the talent and could have stepped right up,’ the source added.
But Rose told the news site that he was ‘very, very supportive of Josh’
Back in February reports swirled about two senior members of CBS’s team stating how unhappy they were with Elliott’s on-air announcement that he would be leaving his post to begin reporting in the field.
Elliott revealed, before he was let go by CBS, that he would be doing more ‘long-form pieces’ and leaving his post as the host of the CBSN morning show he had been hosting online for almost a year. He was then fired by CBS just days later.
A CBS News source who was not authorized to speak on the record told DailyMail.com at the time that this was the result of complaints the network received from CBS Evening News host Scott Pelley and Rose.
As of Wednesday evening, 17 women have publicly accused Rose of making unwanted sexual advances or harassment toward them
‘Apparently Charlie and Scott were furious they weren’t consulted. It was viewed at CBS News as a more highbrow version of the Michael Strahan and Kelly Ripa debacle at ABC’s Live,’ the source told DailyMail.com.
‘When they found out it became Sophie’s Choice for CBS News with network executives making their decision based on loyalty. Do they keep Scott and Charlie happy or support Josh Elliott? They had no choice but to look after their marque stars.’
As of Wednesday evening, 17 women have publicly accused Rose of making unwanted sexual advances or harassment toward them.
In a lengthy statement in response to the expose, Rose did not deny all of the allegations being made by the women but said that he did not believe all of his accusers were ‘accurate’ in their description of his offenses.
‘It is essential that these women know I hear them and that I deeply apologize for my inappropriate behavior. I am greatly embarrassed,’ stated Rose.
‘I have behaved insensitively at times, and I accept responsibility for that, though I do not believe that all of these allegations are accurate. I always felt that I was pursuing shared feelings, even though I now realize I was mistaken.’
Rose was fired from CBS on Tuesday.