"Oprah called me and said, 'Are you OK?' I am not OK."
At the top of CBS This Morning on Tuesday, Gayle King and Norah O'Donnell addressed the sexual misconduct allegations against Charlie Rose.
Rose co-anchored the morning show alongside King and O'Donnell for five years, but was suspended from the network on Monday after eight women came forward in an article published by The Washington Post alleging that the 75-year-old newsman sexually harassed and/or assaulted them when they were working on his PBS interview show, which has also been put on hold.
King admitted that she was "still trying to process" the news, calling the allegations against Rose "deeply disturbing, troubling and painful" to read.
"I really am still reeling. I got an hour and 42 minutes of sleep last night," she told viewers. "Oprah [Winfrey] called me and said, 'Are you OK?' I am not OK."
King noted that while she and her coworkers are "deeply affected" and "rocked" by the Post piece, she is supporting the women who have spoken out about Rose's alleged sexual misconduct.
"I really applaud the women that speak up despite the friendship," she continued. "[Rose] doesn't get a pass because I can't stop thinking about the anguish of these women. What happened to their dignity, what happened to their bodies, what happened maybe even to their careers."
The 62-year-old newswoman added, "I'm still trying to sort it out because this is not the man I know, but I'm also clearly on the side of the women who have been very hurt and very damaged by this."
O'Donnell, 43, had a similar response to the allegations against Rose. "Let me be very clear: there is no excuse for this alleged behavior," she said while seated next to King on CBS This Morning. "This I know is true: women cannot achieve equality in the workplace or in society until there is a reckoning and a taking of responsibility."
She continued, "I am really proud to work at CBS News. There are so many incredible people here, especially on this show -- all of you here. This will be investigated. This has to end. This behavior is wrong. Period."
In a statement to the Post, which Rose later tweeted, he apologized for his alleged past behavior.
“In my 45 years in journalism, I have prided myself on being an advocate for the careers of the women with whom I have worked,” reads Rose's statement. “Nevertheless, in the past few days, claims have been made about my behavior toward some former female colleagues. It is essential that these women know I hear them and that I deeply apologize for my inappropriate behavior."
The statement continues, "I am greatly embarrassed. I have behaved insensitively at times, and I accept responsibility for that, though I do not believe that all of these allegations are accurate. I always felt that I was pursuing shared feelings, even though I now realize I was mistaken."
ET recently spoke with King's best friend, Oprah Winfrey, about how she is taking on the issue of sexual harassment in Hollywood.
"I'm not happy that it happened the way that it did, but this moment, I feel a seminal moment. It's a really powerful time for everybody to get woke," she expressed. "Not just about sexual harassment but about the way you view somebody who has less power than you do. This is really a question about power and the misuse and abuse of power. So I think it's a time for those of us who do hold some to come together and to see what we can do to further this moment that's actually happening."
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