Women at NBC Felt Pressured to Support Tom Brokaw
/When former NBC correspondent Linda Vester claimed that Tom Brokaw groped her almost 30 years ago, a number of women at NBC came out in support of the former Anchorman.
But now, according to Page Six, at least some of those woman say they felt pressured to show Brokaw their support.
The gossip column writes, one NBC News staffer said, “We felt forced to sign the letter supporting Brokaw. We had no choice, particularly the lower level staffers. 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.”
Another insider said the powerful names on the letter could intimidate other victims. “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.”
An NBC News rep said, “The letter is a purely grass-roots effort, led by women outside of the company who are motivated by their own support for Tom Brokaw . . . Management has played absolutely no role whatsoever.”
FTVLive talked to one woman at NBC that says she totally supports Tom Brokaw and she felt absolutely no pressure to sign such a letter.
More than 100 female staffers at NBC signed the letter.