Tavis Smiley Says Sex with His Employees Has Been Consensual

RadioOnFire.com - Tavis Smiley made an appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America" on Monday (December 18) to address the allegations of sexual misconduct that led to his show being indefinitely suspended by PBS last week.

Since news about the charges he is facing originally surfaced in an exclusive published by Variety, Smiley has maintained that he has never in his three decades in the business; groped, exposed himself, or coerced a colleague in the workplace, and he adds that neither has he been accused of such. However, Smiley is being accused of having had sexual relationships with women who've worked under him, and that much he not only admits to but defends.

“There are some people who believe that there is no such thing as a consensual relationship in the workplace. I hear that point of view and I respect it. But there are also other points of view on this,” Smiley said during his sit-down with Paula Faris. He then went on to point out that while PBS had been distributing the Tavis Smiley Show, it was an independent production with an employee handbook that didn't forbid workplace relationships. “I don’t know where your heart’s going to lead you,” Smiley said while explaining why relationships in his company were not discouraged in writing. “There are millions of Americans watching this program right now who met their spouses at work,” he said.

Faris would go on to challenge that an employer-subordinate relationship carries different implications than one of two employees might. He agreed but claimed that he has never taken advantage of his romances professionally. PBS didn't buy it. Soon after his appearance, the network released a statement standing by its decision to part ways. “Mr. Smiley’s own words today coupled with the information discovered during the investigation confirms PBS’ decision to indefinitely suspend the distribution of ‘Tavis Smiley,'" the statement read.