Charlie Rose lawsuit expands to Bloomberg as makeup artist calls studio ‘a sexual hunting ground’

(FILE PHOTO by Getty)

Disgraced former journalist Charlie Rose has been sued by his former longtime makeup artist, Gina Riggi, over allegations he “bullied, demeaned and harassed” her during her tenure working alongside him on “The Charlie Rose Show” and “Charlie Rose: The Week.”

These allegations fit a known pattern.

“According to the complaint, Riggi, 62 — who states she has provided makeup services for stars such as Angelina Jolie and Leonardo DiCaprio — worked for Rose, 77, for 22 years,” USA Today reported Friday. “Rose’s shows were filmed at a Bloomberg studio, portrayed in the lawsuit as ‘a sexual hunting ground.’ Her lawsuit names Rose, Charlie Rose Inc., and Bloomberg.'”

“For years, Charlie Rose subjected Ms. Riggi to a toxic, misogynistic work environment, sexually harassing her female co-workers, and demeaning, degrading and belittling her and other women who worked on the show,” Riggi’s attorney Patrick J. Walsh said in a statement.

According to the suit, Rose “regularly swatted at [Riggi] physically as she attempted to comb his hair or adjust his makeup.” During one incident, he became upset as she applied makeup to him and “forcefully grabbed and twisted her arm, physically hurting her.” Rose’s abuse was so frequent that Riggi was forced “to use a hand mirror to protect herself from him.”

The suit also accuses the disgraced journalist of having “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”
  • “commented on their physical appearance” “
  • “asked inappropriate questions about their personal and romantic lives”
  • “barraged them with late-night phone calls”
  • “made explicit sexual overtures”

Read the whole suit below:

 

“In particular, Mr. Rose targeted young, attractive women just beginning their journalism careers, dangling internships and jobs to lure them to ‘interviews’ and ‘career discussions’ with him, often over drinks and dinner,” the suit reads.

“But, 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. In many instances, he never offered these women any employment at all. When he did hire young women to work on the Show, they often endured unpleasant assignments.”

The suit adds that whenever female staff members “reacted negatively” to his behavior, he “abused” them by showering them with criticism, questioning their intelligence, humiliating them, demeaning them and degrading them. In some instances, he became physically violent.

“At times, Mr. Rose became threatening and physically menacing toward women who worked on the Show, looming over them in an aggressive fashion, grabbing their wrists, backing them against walls, and in Ms. Riggi’s case, physically swatting at her,” the suit reads.

Again, all of this fits a known pattern that was first exposed in 2017, when, during the height of the #MeToo movement, Rose was outed as a serial sexual predator and abuser.

Speaking with USA Today, however, Riggi’s attorney added that Bloomberg is also at fault — ergo why it’s been named in the suit — because his client had repeatedly “complained to Bloomberg supervisors, who knew about the behavior, but they did nothing to stop it.”

“Despite substantial notice of Mr. Rose’s behavior for many years, Bloomberg refused to address or remediate it, dismissing it, in words or effective, as ‘Just Charlie being Charlie.'”

But according to Page Six, Riggi is also upset over her employment situation.

“Riggi says when Rose was fired in November 2017, following accusations of sexual misconduct by eight women, she too was let go without any severance, all because of Rose’s misconduct,” the outlet has confirmed.

“She is suing Bloomberg and the show claiming that though she was given the responsibility of a full-time employee, she was considered to be a freelancer by the company and wasn’t given the benefits that all the other employees received.”

Rose has for his part denied the latest batch of allegations against him.

“Mr. Rose vehemently denies and will vigorously contest these allegations. Among other things, the allegations in the complaint are completely inconsistent with written statements made by the plaintiff to Mr. Rose,” his attorney, Jonathan Bach, reportedly said in a statement

These alleged written statements reportedly read as follows:

  • “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.”
  • “[H]ope to see you more often! Please stop by anytime :).”

One of President Donald Trump’s since-debunked sexual assault accusers had behaved similarly. Despite claiming that she’d quit after the then-GOP nominee “forcibly” kissed her while on the campaign trail, evidence uncovered later showed that she’d in fact been all smiles after the alleged sexual assault occurred. She’d even gone on to praise him while speaking on a radio show.

In Rose’s case, mind you, there’s a proven pattern. More importantly, the disgraced journalist has admitted to behaving badly and apologized for his actions. The president, meanwhile, continues to adamantly maintain that he never did anything wrong, and no evidence has surfaced to prove otherwise.

Regarding Riggi’s suit, Bloomberg has also issued a statement.

“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.,” a spokesperson said.

DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW

Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!

Success! Thank you for donating. Please share BPR content to help combat the lies.
Vivek Saxena

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

PLEASE JOIN OUR NEW COMMENT SYSTEM! We love hearing from our readers and invite you to join us for feedback and great conversation. If you've commented with us before, we'll need you to re-input your email address for this. The public will not see it and we do not share it.

Latest Articles