Erin Gee, 44, has filed a sex discrimination lawsuit against CBS after working for the company for 17 years
A former CBS producer claims she was told by her boss to have sex with a male coworker in order to ‘break the ice’ and essentially move up in the company.
Erin Gee, 44, has filed a sex discrimination lawsuit against CBS after working for the company for 17 years.
Details of her lawsuit comes a week after longtime CBS host Charlie Rose was fired less than 24 hours after multiple women accused him of making unwanted sexual advances.
In her lawsuit, which was filed earlier this year, Gee alleges her boss at CBS Evening News, Robert Klug, told her in 2011 that she should ‘have sex’ with a video editor who had been difficult to work with to ‘break the ice.’
She also claims that soon after Klug because executive director, Gee was told by her male supervisor that Klug had asked him whether he’d had sex with Gee or other women in the office, according to court documents.
In 2015, Gee complained to her supervisor about discrimination in the workplace.
Gee claims when she returned from a short vacation soon after, she was told she was being removed from her associate director role at CBS Evening News because of ‘behavioral problems’.
In court documents, Gee says she was never warned or reprimanded for her behavior at work in the 17 years she worked at CBS.
‘All I wanted was the same opportunities that were being given to the men. In my nearly 20 years at CBS, I never saw a female director direct the evening news,’ Gee told the New York Post on Sunday.
Details of her lawsuit comes a week after longtime CBS host Charlie Rose was fired less than 24 hours after multiple women accused him of making unwanted sexual advances
Gee says she was demoted to CBS Evening Weekend News before she eventually quit the network.
‘My situation demonstrates why woman are afraid to speak up. When they do, they’re often punished for it,’ she said.
Gee had filed a Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint but it was dismissed back in March.
She filed the lawsuit alleging sex discrimination in June and is suing for unspecified damages.
CBS says Gee’s allegations against the company and Klug are wholly without merit.
‘Contrary to those allegations, Ms Gee was treated in a nondiscriminatory and nonretaliatory manner,’ a CBS spokesperson said.
It comes after eight women who worked for or wanted to work for Rose told the Washington Post last week that Charlie Rose had groped them, openly walked around nude or said sexually inappropriate things on the job.
The fallout for Rose was swift.
After initially suspending him, CBS News fired Rose from its morning show 24 hours after the allegations surfaced.
Three women at the network have since come forward with complaints with two saying he grabbed them inappropriately.
Rose apologized for his actions and said he was ‘deeply embarrassed.’