Jury Decides Tavis Smiley Must Pay PBS In #MeToo Dispute

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A jury decided Wednesday that former television talk show host Tavis Smiley, who was fired amid allegations of workplace sexual misconduct at the height of the #MeToo movement, must pay about $1.5 million to his former employer, the Public Broadcasting Service. He was fired amid the wave of #MeToo reports of sexual misconduct in the workplace by powerful figures in movies, media and politics that began with allegations against Harvey Weinstein and also led to the departure of Tavis’s fellow PBS talk-show host Charlie Rose. He first sued PBS in D.C. Superior Court, contending that racial bias contributed to his dismissal and he was wrongly terminated without proof. He acknowledged having romantic relationships with colleagues over his career, but says they were consensual. He sought $1 million. The network counter-sued, arguing in part that Smiley owed the network for a season that didn’t air. At issue was the network’s “morals” clause, which bars romantic relationships in the office and also disallows employees from acting in a way that would impact the employee or network in a negative way.

PBS later said in a statement the network was pleased with the jury’s decision.

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