Tom Brokaw Accuser Slams NBC: “Women Have Already Been Through Hell With This Company”

Following MSNBC host Rachel Maddow’s criticism of NBC in regard to how they handled Ronan Farrow’s reporting on Harvey Weinstein and ultimately let the story get away — which Farrow reveals in his new book Catch and Kill  — the network has been hit with another assessment of their current practices.

Linda Vester, a former NBC News employee who accused Nightly News journalist Tom Brokaw of sexual harassment in 2018, on Saturday issued her own statement criticizing the way NBC deals with NDA agreements.

In her statement, written via her foundation Silence Breakers Alliance and obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Vester referenced what NBC said on Friday after Maddow broke the news that the network will release former employees from legal clauses that prevented them from reporting sexual misconduct. She called its statement “not enough,” noting that “women have been through hell with this company.”

Vester was reacting to this statement from NBC: “Any former NBC News employee who believes that they cannot disclose their experience with sexual harassment as a result of a confidentiality or non-disparagement provision in their separation agreement should contact NBCUniversal and we will release them from that perceived obligation.”

Vester wrote in her response, “NBC Universal’s statement is not enough. The company should not make any former employee, specifically women, go begging on their hands and knees back to NBC to be released from an NDA.”

She continued, “Women have already been through hell with this company. Instead, here’s what NBC should do: issue a blanket statement simply releasing all current and former NBC / MSNBC employees from ALL SECRET AGREEMENTS if they have information regarding sexual misconduct, retaliation, silencing or coverups. Because it’s not just the harassment, it’s everything management does to enable perpetrators and harm victims.”

When contacted by THR, Vester said that Silence Breakers Alliance, a nonprofit that helps victims speak out and advocates for changes in the workplace in order to eradicate sexual harassment, is offering “confidential support to anyone with information about NBC regarding sexual/gender harassment, intimidation, retaliation, silencing and coverups.”

The organization can be contacted through its website.

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