Actress Illeana Douglas Accuses Les Moonves of Sexual Misconduct In Ronan Farrow Exposé

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CBS CEO Les Moonves is being accused of sexual misconduct by six women in a new exposé from Ronan Farrow in The New Yorker.

One of the four women who went on the record with their names was actress Illeana Douglas, who claimed Moonves threw himself at her while she was working on a comedy pilot for the network in the late '90s. She believes she was fired after turning down his advances.

According to Douglas' account, she was asked to meet Moonves in his office while she was working on a sitcom called "Queens," to be sure they were -- as Farrow put it -- "creatively aligned." She said they didn't talk business, however, and he asked whether she was single before asking to kiss her.

"In a millisecond, he's got one arm over me, pinning me," she told Farrow, adding that he was "violently kissing" her. "What it feels like to have someone hold you down -- you can't breathe, you can't move. The physicality of it was horrendous." When she went to leave, Douglas told Farrow that Moonves momentarily blocked her path. "It was physically scary. It was so invasive ... it has stayed with me the rest of my life, that terror."

CBS told Farrow that Moonves acknowledges trying to kiss the actress, but "denies any characterization of 'sexual assault,' intimidation, or retaliatory action."

She said she later felt intimidated by Moonves on set and was replaced on the show, before she was given a mini-series by the network. "My understanding is, this is what they were going to do in exchange for not suing," Douglas told Farrow, looking back.

CBS told The New Yorker the series was offered to her to fulfill her deal with the network and there "were no funds added for settlement purposes."

"I recognize that there were times decades ago when I may have made some women uncomfortable by making advances. Those were mistakes, and I regret them immensely," Moonves told the publication in a statement. "But I always understood and respected -- and abided by the principle -- that 'no' means 'no,' and I have never misused my position to harm or hinder anyone's career."

Moonves' wife, "The Talk" and "Big Brother" host Julie Chen also released a statement on Twitter after the report dropped.

Before the story even broke -- but was teased by The Hollywood Reporter -- CBS preemptively said they would be investigating the allegations.

Read Farrow's entire piece over at The New Yorker.