The New Yorker magazine on Thursday sacked staff writer Jeffrey Toobin after he exposed himself during a virtual meeting last month. Toobin had been suspended while the magazine investigated the incident.
Toobin, who is also the Chief Legal Analyst for CNN, took to Twitter to confirm the news. “I was fired today by New Yorker after 27 years as a Staff Writer,” he wrote. “I will always love the magazine, will miss my colleagues, and will look forward to reading their work.”
A top official from Condé Nast, the company which owns The New Yorker, informed employees about the decision through an email, CNN reported. “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,” Stan Duncan, chief people officer at Condé Nast, said, according to the news network.
He added: “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.”
Toobin was caught masturbating during a video call on Zoom between members of The New Yorker and WNYC radio in October. He later admitted to making “an embarrassingly stupid mistake”. “I believed I was not visible on Zoom,” he had said. “I thought no one on the Zoom call could see me. I thought I had muted the Zoom video.”
The writer also apologised to his family, friends and colleagues. He had also taken time off from CNN.
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