Ian Metrose, a long-time CBS talent relations manager who became involved in the scandal surrounding former CBS chief Leslie Moonves, will leave the network at the end of the month after 20 years.
Metrose would have made the decision to leave at the end of his current contract. But there’s no doubt his departure was precipitated by the scandal that erupted in November surrounding Moonves and his association with the Los Angeles Police Department.
In 2017, according to an investigation by the New York Attorney General, Metrose was involved in communications with retired LAPD Captain Cory Palka, who is accused of tipping off Moonves that a sexual assault charge had been filed against him over an allegation dating back until the eighties. Palka had developed a relationship with Moonves and several CBS executives, including Metrose, after she was hired to secure Moonves at major events. Palka is under investigation by the LAPD.
“Ian decided to leave CBS this month at the end of his contract. We thank him for his 20 years of leading network and studio events and wish him the best of luck in his next role,” CBS said in a statement.
Metrose most recently served as senior VP of talent relations and special events. He was part of a tight-knit core group of executives who helped revive CBS’s fortunes in the early 2000s.
Metrose was loved and respected by his CBS colleagues. But the details of his involvement in the Palka situation, as revealed in the New York Attorney General’s comprehensive report and in the recently published book “Unscripted: The Epic Battle for a Media Empire and the Redstone Family Legacy,” made it is unsustainable for Metrose to continue in its role for the long term.
(Cynthia Littleton contributed to this report.)