Chen stands by her husband; CBS punts on Les Moonves allegations

SCREEN CAPTURE

'The Talk' host Julie Chen briefly addressed the allegations against her husband.

JULIE CHEN, host of the CBS show The Talk, didn't say much today (July 30) about the allegations against her husband, CBS CEO Les Moonves.

At the beginning of the show, after walking out on the stage to applause, Chen, one of the promienent Asian Americans on American television, addressed the elephant in the room head-on. She said that her previous statement is her only comment on the matter.

“Some of you may be aware of what’s been going on in my life for the past few days,” she said at the opening of the show. “I issued the one and only statement I will ever make on this topic on Twitter. I will stand by that statement today, tomorrow, forever.”

RELATED: Julie Chen's statement

The audience broke out in applause and Chen said, "That's it," then continued with the rest of her show, the first episode since last Friday when a story from The New Yorker was published saying six women had come forward to accuse the CBS head of sexual misconduct.

Today was the first workday after the New Yorker story was published.

CBS told media it was “in the process of selecting outside counsel to conduct an independent investigation.” But after a regularly scheduled call with the board of directors, CBS had not taken any action against Moonves. “No other action was taken on this matter at today’s board meeting,” they said in a statement.

Moonves makes more than $69 million annually, according to the New York Times. If he was to be fired without being found guilty of these accusations, the company would owe him an exit package of $184 million.

One of the accusers, actress Illeana Douglas, alleged he violently kissed her. "You think, how long is this going to go on? I couldn't get him off me," she said.

All of the women say they believe their careers suffered because they rejected his advances.

Moonves said in a statement he regretted "immensely" having "made some women uncomfortable" in the past.

Chen issued a statement Friday defending her husband.'

CBS star Chen, who also hosts Big Brother, and Moonves have been married 14 years. He is largely credited for CBS success in the last decade.

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