Writer Jeffrey Toobin announced that The New Yorker has fired him after an incident where he was caught masterbating during an online staff meeting.
After nearly two decades of writing for The New Yorker, with notable accomplishments such as breaking the story of an LAPD detective attempting to plant evidence in the OJ Simpson case, Toobin was fired shortly after being suspended from his position.
The incident occurred during a meeting between the New Yorker’s staff and representatives from WNYC who were planning to cover the election in a joint effort over Zoom. During breakout discussions, Toobin began to masturbate on camera, later admitting that he thought he had turned his camera off.
In a later statement, Toobin said, “I made an embarrassingly stupid mistake, believing I was off-camera. I apologize to my wife, family, friends, and co-workers. I believed I was not visible on Zoom. I thought no one on the Zoom call could see me. I thought I had muted the Zoom video.”
The incident was investigated by Condé Nast, The New Yorker‘s parent company. The company’s chief people officer Stan Duncan sent a memo to employees saying, “I am writing to share with you that our investigation regarding Jeffrey Toobin is complete, and as a result, he is no longer affiliated with our company,” said the executive. “I want to assure everyone that we take workplace matters seriously. We are committed to fostering an environment where everyone feels respected and upholds our standards of conduct.”
The only official statement regarding the incident by CNN, where Toobin was a regular contributor, was in a statement stating that they were granting him a leave of absence “while he deals with a personal issue, which we have granted.”
