Female staffers at NBC News said they felt pressured into signing a letter supporting former anchor Tom Brokaw after allegations of sexual misconduct, according to a report Monday in the New York Post’s “Page Six” gossip column.
“We felt forced to sign the letter supporting Brokaw,” one staffer told the column. “We had no choice, particularly the lower level staffers.”
The report also said executives at the network were watching to see who signed and who didn’t sign the letter. In all, 115 women signed the letter, including big-name female anchors Rachel Maddow, Andrea Mitchell and Mika Brzezinski, who all publicly defended Mr. Brokaw.
Former colleague Linda Vester said Mr. Brokaw “assaulted” her in the 1990s and another anonymous assistant also said he made unwanted advances.
NBC anchor Megyn Kelly warned her colleagues of their initial support, saying, “you don’t know what you don’t know.”
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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