'They Don't Have Sex the Same Way'

"On July 28, 2018, The New Yorker published a 9,000-word article by Ronan Farrow on CBS Chairman and CEO Les Moonves's decades of alleged sexual misconduct and assault. It was the first of a tranche of reports that would lead to his resignation in September. Their contents, which Moonves denied, ranged from allegations of violent and coercive oral sex and Moonves telling an actress, "Come on, you're not some nubile virgin," while he forced himself on her to Moonves destroying evidence of malfeasance and CBS paying millions of dollars in settlements related to his alleged behavior without admitting to wrongdoing."

"A few weeks earlier, Moonves had executed what would turn out to be one of his last acts running CBS: green-lighting Love Island USA. It wouldn't have happened without Billy Bowers. Before Love Island UK was licensed by Hulu, Moonves's assistant was given DVDs of season three by Sharon Vuong, CBS's senior vice president of alternative programming."

"Bowers was rapt by what he saw, including one of the friskiest male friendships of the series. He watched in awe as Kem and Chris shaved their initials into each other's pubes, kissed in challenges, and admired each other's penises, all while maintaining opposite-sex relationships that would get them to the finale. This is the greatest reality show that's on, Bowers thought to himself."

"They would often discuss the network's other unscripted series, including Big Brother, which is still hosted by Moonves's wife, Julie Chen Moonves. Some viewers were already complaining Big Brother was too much of a time commitment at three weekly episodes; now Bowers would have to sell his boss on a show that would air six nights a week, including the aftershow. Fortuitously, CBS didn't have a dating series at the time."

CBS Chairman and CEO Les Moonves faced decades of alleged sexual misconduct and assault, which he denied. Allegations included coercive sexual acts, statements made to an actress, destruction of evidence, and CBS settlements tied to alleged behavior without admitting wrongdoing. Moonves’s last acts running CBS included approving Love Island USA. The approval process depended on Billy Bowers, Moonves’s assistant, who was given DVDs of Love Island UK season three by Sharon Vuong, CBS’s senior vice president of alternative programming. Bowers became enthusiastic after watching the show’s male friendships and intimate challenges. He then worked to persuade Moonves to green-light a U.S. version that would air six nights a week, including an aftershow, during the early CBS All Access era.

Read at Vulture