Charlie Rose’s former chief makeup artist is suing him, saying the former CBS and PBS host ran a “toxic work environment” for women.
Gina Riggi said in her harassment lawsuit filed Thursday that she worked for 22 years for Rose and Bloomberg at the Manhattan studio where his company was located. She lost her job in 2017 after Rose was fired by PBS and CBS News for sexual misconduct.
According to Variety, the suit alleges that “Throughout the workday, and at work events, Mr. Rose routinely groped and pawed at his female staff, pressed himself against them, hugged them, kissed them, pulled them toward him, whispered in their ears, stared at their breasts, looked down their shirts, and otherwise subjected them to inappropriate and unwanted physical contact.”
The suit also claims that “Mr. Rose commented on their physical appearance, asked inappropriate questions about their personal and romantic lives, and barraged them with late-night phone calls. In many instances … he made explicit sexual overtures,” CNN reported.
Her lawsuit seeks unspecified damages “and equitable relief for the harm she has endured.” Riggi claims that Rose treated his studio as a sexual hunting ground for attractive young women.
“Far from being an advocate for their careers, Mr. Rose treated them as sexual targets, using his power and influence to serve his personal desires,” Riggi says in the lawsuit.
Riggi said Rose would demean and humiliate women who rejected him and once swatted at her. Many women who were shaken by encounters by Rose would use her makeup room as a refuge, she said.
An attorney for Rose, Jonathan Bach, says he denies the allegations and also quotes messages from Riggi to Rose that were by nature, friendly, “Mr. Rose vehemently denies and will vigorously contest these allegations,” Bach said.
“Among other things, the allegations in the complaint are completely inconsistent with written statements made by the plaintiff to Mr. Rose, including ‘I love working for you at your show, and would love to be part of any show that you host,’ ‘I consider it an honor to be a member of your team,’ and ‘hope to see you more often! Please stop by any time.'”
According to USA Today, Ty Trippet, a spokesperson for Bloomberg, claims Riggi was never actually employed by the company.
“At no time was the plaintiff an employee of ours,” he said. “We understand that the plaintiff was a contractor of Charlie Rose Inc., and given that they operated independently of us, any of her compensation would have been handled solely by Charlie Rose Inc.”
AP contributed to this report.
