Tom Brokaw disputes accusations of inappropriate behavior by 2 former NBC employees
A former NBC News correspondent told The Washington Post in a report published late Thursday that during the 1990s, former anchor Tom Brokaw made unwanted sexual advances toward her, once forcibly trying to kiss her after inviting himself into her hotel room.
Brokaw fiercely disputed claims from the woman, Linda Vester, calling her descriptions "melodramatic" and akin to a "drive-by shooting" in a letter circulated to NBC News colleagues Friday, the Los Angeles Times reports. Brokaw characterized Vester as a bitter ex-employee who wanted to attack NBC because of her "limited success" at the network.
"I should not have gone but I emphatically did not verbally and physically attack her and suggest an affair in language right out of pulp fiction," Brokaw said in the letter of the hotel room meeting. The letter also criticized Vester for making the allegations public in the Post rather than mentioning her discomfort to Brokaw first. "She couldn't pick up the phone and say, 'I'd like to talk. I have issues from those two meetings 20 years ago'? Instead she became a character assassin. Strip away all of the hyperbole and what has she achieved? What was her goal? Hard to believe it wasn't much more Look At Me than Me:Too."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Brokaw has additionally denied allegations from another woman, a former production assistant who asked to remain anonymous, who told the Post that Brokaw grabbed her hands and put them under his jacket and against his chest in the 1990s. Both women said they did not file a complaint for fear of retribution. Read more at the Los Angeles Times.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.
-
Are 'judge shopping' rules a blow to Republicans?
Today's Big Question How the abortion pill case got to the Supreme Court
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Climate change is driving Indian women to choose sterilization
under the radar Faced with losing their jobs, they are making a life-altering decision
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
'A great culture will be lost if the EV brigade gets its way'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump gets $289M break, first criminal trial date
Speed Read The former president's fraud bond has been reduced to $175 million from $464 million
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US-Israel rift widens after UN cease-fire resolution
Speed Read The U.S. declined to veto a U.N. resolution calling for a two-week "immediate cease-fire" in Gaza
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New Jersey first lady exits race to replace Menendez
Speed Read Tammy Murphy dropping out paves the way for Rep. Andy Kim to become the state's next senator
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Russia blames Ukraine for deadly ISIS Moscow attack
Speed Read Putin has ignored the Islamic State's claim of responsibility for the concert hall shooting
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump-RNC pact puts Trump legal bills ahead of GOP
Speed Read The former president has struck a deal with the Republican National Committee to put donations toward his legal bills
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Vietnam president resigns amid scandal
Speed Read Vietnam loses its second president in two years as Vo Van Thuong steps down
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Texas migrant law in limbo after Supreme Court OK
Speed Read The law has been blocked again, mere hours after the Supreme Court allowed the state to arrest migrants
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published