As we discussed last week, Michael Weatherly sexually harassed his costar Eliza Dushku and CBS ended up paying her $9.5 million. Dushku guest starred on CBS’s Bull, and she was promised that her guest-star gig would become a full-time role. The full-time role never panned out, because Dushku rightly complained when Weatherly repeatedly said inappropriate things to her. CBS tried to fight Dushku’s lawsuit, but she had a pretty clear-cut case and they awarded her the $9.5 million as part of a very quiet settlement. The settlement only came to light because CBS has been doing a far-ranging investigation into Les Moonves, their long-time president/CEO, who was ousted this year after dozens of women came forward and spoke about his history of sexual harassment, sexual abuse and assault, and the toxic culture he created at CBS. As it turns out, Les Moonves oversaw the Dushku settlement himself:

As accusations of sexual harassment and sexual assault by Harvey Weinstein and others began flooding Hollywood early this year, CBS’ then-CEO Les Moonves stepped in to settle claims against one of the network’s biggest stars. Moonves was deeply and directly involved in the $9.5 million payout that CBS forked over to Eliza Dushku in January after the actor accused Bull lead Michael Weatherly of sexual harassment on the first season of the CBS drama, we’ve learned. Additionally, the confidential payment was sneaked into Bull’s production budget in an effort apparently motivated to avoid the sum popping up on the company’s books, sources say.

The confidential agreement was struck while CBS was engaging in ultimately unsuccessful talks of a potential merger with Viacom. The settlement and its machinations were not known to then-COO Joe Ianniello, who became acting CEO after Moonves resigned in September after a dozen women accused him of sexual aggression.

“Moonves was intimately involved in the Bull situation, as he was in almost all settlement talks and deals at CBS,” according to a person with knowledge of the situation. “The guy micromanaged this kind of stuff,” the source added of the Dushku settlement.

[From Deadline]

And people wonder why Weatherly felt like he could get away with acting that creepy and toxic way – it was because Les Moonves had his back, and Les Moonves created the creepy and toxic culture from top to bottom at CBS.

Speaking of, two of Michael Weatherly’s former female costars (both on NCIS) posted photos of him and messages of support. Sasha Alexander worked with Weatherly on the first seasons of NCIS, and Pauley Perrette worked with Weatherly for more than a decade on NCIS. I don’t doubt that both women have good things to say about Weatherly, and that they both consider him a friend. But again, that’s not a solid argument – “he didn’t sexually harass me, therefore he wouldn’t sexually harass anyone!”

This man… I love, respect, trust, and I KNOW. TWO decades of friendship and respect. The best. I love you @M_Weatherly Always and forever. pic.twitter.com/654ATa83w4

— Pauley Perrette (@PauleyP) December 15, 2018

I have been in trenches w/ my friend ?@M_Weatherly?. Always laughs, true friend & ?? as big as they come. pic.twitter.com/kiJz4ACyJA

— Sasha Alexander (@sashaalexander) December 15, 2018

Photos courtesy of CBS/’Bull’.