Tavis Smiley is the latest powerful African American man to be taken down by the #MeToo movement. Last year, Tavis was accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a woman on his staff and PBS canceled his show.
Tavis fought back against the allegations and asked PBS to do a full investigation. He thought the investigation would exonerate him. He was wrong.
Unfortunately for Tavis, the report/investigation uncovered ‘multiple’ new allegations of sexual harassment against him.
Here are some of the allegations contained in the just-surfaced PBS report:
*** A former employee alleged that Smiley asked her to lunch, and then asked about her bra size, offering a trip to Victoria’s Secret at The Grove. The woman was eventually laid off from the show and was allegedly told that she “knew too much” about Smiley’s actions, according to the report.
*** Several women interviewed for the report claimed consensual relations with Smiley, but said that the power differences made for an uneasy relationship. One guest on the show who was involved claimed she was not invited back despite submitting to Smiley.
*** Another producer on the Smiley show who had a sexual relationship with him was told that the relationship would be kept secret. However, she was terminated when others found out. She told the investigators that she believed other office sexual relationships played a role in her dismissal.
*** Still another accuser said Smiley asked her why she was “playing so hard to get” on a business trip.
*** A woman claimed in 2000, Smiley grabbed her buttocks during a photo session, and then later purposely made contact between his penis and her buttocks.
*** One woman claimed that when she visited Smiley’s house, he opened the door and was not wearing pants. He later asked her to have a threesome with him and his executive producer Kimberly McFarland, who, the report claimed, was seen naked in Smiley’s bed with a frightened look.