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“CBS This Morning” is reportedly hoping that Oprah Winfrey will save the day and fill in for Charlie Rose after he was let go following shocking sexual harassment allegations, sources told Page Six.
“They are begging Oprah to fill in,” said a TV insider. “Not full time . . . But they are hoping she’ll do one day, two days, one hour, fill in ’til Christmas. Anything.”
Recent reports have said that a rotating cast of CBS News talent will step in to make the process easier. But the source said the network’s “not exactly known for its deep bench of stars compared to rivals NBC and ABC.”
Suggested Rose replacements that people have posed on Twitter have included Tony Dokoupil and Bianna Golodryga.
Winfrey joined CBS’ “60 Minutes” in September, and it is known that she is best friends with “CBS This Morning” co-host Gayle King. An insider said that the strategy is to land Winfrey: “Unless you get a superstar [on the show], it’s always going to be, ‘Charlie’s missing.’”
King mentioned Winfrey on Tuesday, saying that the Rose incident made her feel “not okay.”
“I really am still reeling. I got an hour and 42 minutes of sleep last night. Both my son and my daughter called me,” King said. “Oprah called me and said, ‘Are you OK?’ I am not OK.”
While it’s doubted that Winfrey has an empty December to give to CBS, there is a small chance that she may be interested in contributing to the discussion surrounding Rose’s departure.