CBS This Morning's Norah O'Donnell & Gayle King Speak With Cold Realism About Charlie Rose's Suspension

'CBS This Morning' anchors Norah O'Donnell, Charlie Rose and Gayle King on a happier morning than Nov. 21, 2017, when the women condemned the actions of their co-host.

Disgraced, power-brain talk show host and journalist Charlie Rose was honored in October at the Flax Trust annual luncheon at the 21 Club, New York.  Rose was introduced by Norah O’Donnell, his co-host on “CBS This Morning,” and presented with the Flax Trust Award by Sr. Mary Turley. The group publishes Irish America magazine,  vehicle for expression on a range of political, economic, social and cultural themes that are of paramount importance to the Irish in the United States.

This morning, Charlie Rose lies in the smoldering ashes of another Icarus who flew too close to the sun. Viewers of “CBS This Morning” start the day with the show’s signature “eye opener,” a first-moment montage of overnight news. The Tuesday morning 'eye opener' was painful as co-anchors Gayle King and Norah O’Donnell told their audience in stark terms how much they were shaken by allegations of sexual harassment leveled at the third member of their team, Charlie Rose.

“None of us ever thought we’d be sitting at this table in particular telling this story, but here we are,” said King, making a reference to the round-topped glass table that has become the center of the CBS morning program, which features Rose, King and O’Donnell not only reporting the news but talking over the ramifications of the stories they deliver. “This is not the man I know, but I’m clearly on the side of the women who have been very hurt and very damaged by this,” she added.

O'Donnell's remarks were very different from her praise of Charlie Rose a month ago at the Flax Trust luncheon. “Let me be clear: There is no excuse for this alleged behavior," she said, echoing a feeling that many women are experiencing. “This I know is true: Women cannot achieve equality in the workplace or society until there is reckoning," adding "This will be investigated. This has to end. This behavior is wrong, period.”

Read details of WaPo's in-depth revelations about the esteemed Charlie Rose's long-time behavior patterns with younger women.