Actor Cybill Shepherd said her eponymous CBS sitcom would’ve “run another five years” had she not rejected sexual advances from the network’s former chief, Les Moonves, who was ousted earlier this year after mounting sexual misconduct allegations.
Speaking on Sirius XM’s The Michelle Collins Show Wednesday, Shepherd said she attended a dinner with Moonves during which he told her that both his wife and "mistress" didn't "turn him on."
“And I’m watching him drink alcohol and...he says, 'Well, you know, why don’t you let me take you home?'”
Shepherd said she declined the invitation and instead got a ride home with a friend.
[Earlier: CBS Chief Les Moonves Is Leaving As He Faces A Sexual Harassment Scandal]
The actor said that soon after she rebuffed Moonves, she began experiencing pushback on the series from the network when it came to creative decisions.
According to Shepherd, she was told that certain gags had to cease, like her character “talking with some food in their mouth.” She added that she wasn’t permitted to say the words “menstruation” or “menses” on the show, and that she “fought to say 'period'” on the sitcom.
“My show could have run another five years, but I didn’t fall on the right side of Les,” Shepherd said. “I wasn’t gonna fall at all for Les.”
CBS declined to comment on Shepherd's allegation.
Moonves was accused of sexually harassing six women in a New Yorker report by Ronan Farrow this summer.
More than half of the women who spoke to the outlet alleged that the former executive would forcibly kiss and touch them during business meetings, something that “appeared to be a practiced routine.”
In September, Moonves settled with the network and left his role.
As part of the deal, Moonves and CBS said in a statement at the time that $20 million would be donated to organizations that support the #MeToo movement and “equality for women in the workplace.”
The network said those funds would be deducted from his severance benefits.