New Yorker contributor and CNN chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin has been suspended by The New Yorker after he masturbated on a Zoom call with his co-workers. WNYC was also on the call.
What We Know:
- According to Vice Reports, the call was an election simulation featuring many of New Yorker’s most significant leads: Jane Mayer played establishment Republicans, Evan Osnos as Joe Biden, Jelani Cobb as establishment Democrats, and Masha Gessen portrayed Donald Trump.
- Also during the call, Andrew Marantz was the far-right, Sue Halpern was left-wing Democrats, Dexter Filkins was the military, and Jeffrey Toobin represented the courts. There were also many other producers on the call from the New Yorker and WNYC.
- Toobin said to Vice:
“I made an embarrassingly stupid mistake, believing I was off-camera. I apologize to my wife, family, friends, and co-workers … I believed I was not visible on Zoom. I thought no one on the Zoom call could see me. I thought I had muted the Zoom video.”
- As soon as the news circulated about Toobin’s suspension, “Zoom Dick” began trending on Twitter. Lots of reactions and comments from politicians, reporters, and others were up on Twitter. Even OJ Simpson himself posted a video message on Twitter.
Damn @JeffreyToobin pic.twitter.com/ZkS1gFsyyi
— O.J. Simpson (@TheRealOJ32) October 20, 2020
- Toobin, a graduate from Harvard, arose to fame after covering the OJ Simpson trial. He also published a book in 1996, The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson.
- A representative for The New Yorker said that Jeffrey Toobin had been suspended as they investigate the matter. However, Toobin will no longer be appearing on CNN as a legal analyst for the time being.
According to CNN, the spokesperson stated that Toobin had requested some time off while he deals with a personal issue, which they have awarded.
