Earlier in December, PBS made the announcement that it was suspending Tavis Smiley’s TV show, which it is responsible for distributing but not producing. The announcement happened because PBS heard accusations of sexual misconduct against Smiley, which resulted in an investigation that turned up sufficient evidence for it to make that particular choice.
As for what Smiley was accused of, it seems that he has been having multiple relationships with multiple women at his workplace. However, the most problematic part is that some of the women believed that their employment was connected to their relationships, which explains why PBS was so concerned about what has been happening. Furthermore, PBS mentioned accusations of other kinds of sexual misconduct, but so far, no real information has been revealed about these particular accusations.
Regardless, the relationships are more than enough cause for concern. Most people will agree that workplace relationships are fine if not necessarily wise. However, the dynamics of such a relationship change when one person possesses much more power than the other, particularly when their power is power over the other. Since Smiley is the one around whom his TV show was centered, it is no wonder that PBS became concerned, thus leading to the investigation that seems to have turned out other causes for concern on its part.
How Did Tavis Smiley Respond to PBS’s Decision to Suspend Distribution?
With that said, Smiley has spoken out about the accusations of sexual misconduct against him as well as the suspension of his TV show by PBS. In his statement, he blasted PBS for conducting what he called a “biased” investigation, which was followed by his announcement that he was planning to fight it out. Furthermore, Smiley stated his support for the women who have been speaking out about what has been happening to them before stating that he has never behaved in a number of inappropriate manners towards women.
Smiley’s statement resulted in something of an exchange with PBS. For example, PBS pointed out how Smiley started out claiming that he has had one workplace relationships before acknowledging that he has had multiple workplace relationships when maintaining that position became impossible. Furthermore, PBS claimed that the people who spoke to its investigators often feared retribution for making that choice, which it connected in part to the non-disclosure agreements that the employees at Smiley’s company are required to agree to. Of course, Smiley has had his own responses, with an excellent example being his statement that there is nothing wrong with a consensual workplace relationship, suggesting that the reaction to his workplace relationships are overblown.
Further Considerations
It seems clear that this incident is far from being finished. What will happen remains unclear at this point in time, but it seems probable that more news will come out, which in turn, will lead to further developments. As a result, people who are interested in this case should continue paying attention, not least because the suspension of Smiley’s TV show by PBS is bound to come to an end at some point in the future one way or another.
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