Linda Vester Speaks Out on Brokaw Allegations: He Is ‘Shaming and Blaming a Victim’
Linda Vester, the former NBC News anchor who came forward with accusations of sexual harassment against Tom Brokaw, has a new op-ed speaking out about her allegations and his response.
After Vester publicly said Brokaw “tried to force her to kiss him on two separate occasions,” among other allegations, he put out a statement saying the following:
I am facing a long list of grievances from a former colleague who left NBC News angry that she had failed in her pursuit of stardom. She has unleashed a torrent of unsubstantiated criticism and attacks on me more than twenty years after I opened the door for her and a new job at Fox news… I emphatically did not verbally and physically attack her and suggest an affair in language right out of pulp fiction.
In her op-ed, Vester wrote, “I expected a denial from Brokaw, although his vehemence and spitefulness took me aback. He denied the truth and instead attacked my career and my motives. Shaming and blaming a victim has long been the effective strategy when women speak out.”
She also expressed her disappointment in the women of NBC News (current and former) who co-signed a letter of support for Brokaw, though she does acknowledge reporting that some women may have been “pressured” to sign it:
There is nothing wrong with standing up for a friend or a co-worker. But NBC News’s actions had the effect of communicating to other victims that they wouldn’t be believed and would be better off staying silent.
She wants NBC News to bring in an “outside investigator” to “look into sexual harassment and any coverup of sexual harassment at NBC News.”
Her call for an outside investigation comes on the same day NBC News released the results of its internal investigation into Matt Lauer that a lot of people believe was not remotely sufficient.
[image via screengrab]
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