Female NBC news staffers are admitting they were put under huge pressure to sign the letter defending anchor Tom Brokaw against sexual harassment allegations.
“We felt forced to sign the letter supporting Brokaw. We had no choice, particularly the lower level staffers,” one NBC staffer told Page Six.
“The letter was being handed around the office and the unspoken threat was that if your name was not on it, there would be some repercussion down the road. Execs are watching to see who signed and who didn’t.”
“This was all about coming out in force to protect NBC’s golden boy; the network’s reputation is tied to Brokaw . . . If more women come forward, that’s a big problem,” she added.
Well-known names backing Brokaw include Rachel Maddow, Mika Brzezinski, Andrea Mitchell and Maria Shriver.
Another staffer said big names like theirs in the letter intimidate other staffers to follow their lead.
“When you have over 100 women like Andrea Mitchell signing a letter of support without knowing the facts, it’s pretty scary . . . The letter will have a chilling effect on other women coming forward.”
Notably, the letter was initiated by Brokaw producer Liz Bowyer, contradicting NBC spokesman statements that the letter was led by women in a “grass-roots effort” which “management played absolutely no role whatsoever” within the company to defend the veteran anchor.
Brokaw was accused last week of sexual misconduct by former NBC correspondent Linda Vester and another unnamed woman, prompting Brokaw to issue a statement through NBC.
“I met with Linda Vester on two occasions, both at her request, 23 years ago, because she wanted advice with respect to her career at NBC,” Brokaw said in the statement. “The meetings were brief, cordial and appropriate, and despite Linda’s allegations, I made no romantic overtures towards her, at that time or any other.”
Former Fox host Megyn Kelly, who now works for NBC, warned fellow employees not to go all in on Brokaw’s defense without all the facts available.
“I will say that the same thing did happen at Fox. And the truth is, you don’t know what you don’t know,” Kelly said on the “Today” show Monday. “And that’s not in any way to impugn Tom, who I love and who has been so good to me. I’m just saying, you don’t know what you don’t know.”
In addition to NBC’s statement, Brokaw penned an angry letter vehemently denying the claims against him and telling his side of the story.
“I was ambushed and then perp walked across the pages of The Washington Post and Variety as an avatar of male misogyny, taken to the guillotine and stripped of any honor and achievement I had earned in more than a half century of journalism and citizenship,” he wrote.
“I am not a perfect person. I’ve made mistakes, personally and professionally. But as I write this at dawn on the morning after a drive by shooting by Vester, the Washington Post and Variety, I am stunned by the free ride given a woman with a grudge against NBC News, no distinctive credentials or issue passions while at FOX.”
Brokaw’s accusation comes after former NBC host Matt Lauer was fired in November for numerous allegations of sexual assault and sexual misconduct.
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