Twitter Thinks Les Moonves Assaulted Angela Lansbury Based on Scathing Op-Ed

Yesterday, Designing Women creator Linda Bloodworth Thomason published a scathing op-ed in The Hollywood Reporter accusing ex-CBS president Les Moonves of destroying her career. Bloodworth Thomason insists that while Moonves never sexually harassed or attacked her, he used his position of power to assault other CBS employees, including an actress on an “iconic detective show.” The op-ed never mentions the actress by name, but the claim ignited a flurry of discussion on social media as fans used clues to figure it out. The vast majority of Twitter users think that Moonves assaulted Angela Lansbury, star of the hit CBS detective drama Murder, She Wrote, and now, fans are coming to the 92-year-old actress’ defense.

In the op-ed, Bloodworth Thomason mentions an incident involving Moonves and “a famous actress” that took place in the CBS dining room. She wrote:

Coming off the cancellation of her iconic detective show, the star began pitching a new one. He informed her that she was too old to be on his network. She began to cry and stood up to go. He stood up too, taking her by the shoulders and telling her, “I can’t let you leave like this.” She reacted, suddenly touched. Then he shoved his tongue down her throat. I know this happened because the star is the person who told me.

Bloodworth Thomason doesn’t mention the incident or the actress again, but the claim reinforces the sexual misconduct allegations Moonves is currently facing and the pattern of behavior suggested in Ronan Farrow’s New Yorker pieces.

Almost immediately after the op-ed was published, fans began speculating about the identity of the actress, and many came to the conclusion that Bloodworth Thomason could only be talking about Lansbury. Murder, She Wrote was canceled in 1996, when Lansbury was 70 years old. The drama’s impressive 12-year run certainly makes it an “iconic” series — Murder, She Wrote ran from 1984 to 1996, winning two Emmys and six Golden Globes, including Best Drama. Lansbury was even more successful than the show itself: she was nominated for 12 Emmys and 10 Golden Globes, and she holds the record for the most Emmy nominations for Lead Actress in a Drama (she never won, but was nominated every season).

One Twitter user even found a quote from Moonves in which he says that the network has improved since Lansbury’s days.

Lansbury has yet to confirm or deny that she is the woman in Bloodworth Thomason’s op-ed.