Charlie Rose — once a denizen of uptown power spots like Le Bilboquet — is keeping a low profile these days. After a Washington Post report revealed decades of sexual-harassment allegations lodged against the former PBS and CBS host, Rose has been mostly absent from his prized place atop New York’s social scene, retreating to his $4 million mansion in Bellport, Long Island, instead. A new Hollywood Reporter feature details the journalist’s life since former staffers accused him of misconduct: “Since November — when eight women who worked for (or aspired to work for) the Charlie Rose show accused Rose of sexual harassment — the former PBS and CBS anchor has been at loose ends. After a string of appearances in the gossip pages while attempting to patronize his regular Manhattan watering holes, Rose decamped to his four-bedroom, 5,500-square-foot Long Island home in Bellport, from January through much of March.” In total, 17 women have accused Rose of misconduct ranging from exposing himself, groping them, and verbal harassment.
A handful of (mostly anonymous) friends or ex-colleagues told THR that Rose is “desperately lonely,” as he moves between his homes in New York City, Long Island, D.C., and North Carolina. (He’s reportedly eyeing two more properties on Long Island.) One supporter is super-lawyer David Boies, who suggested that Rose’s open schedule gives him time to self-reflect: “He’s one of the best interviewers in our lifetime,” the lawyer said, “and he is now asking questions of himself.”
