Tom Brokaw Accused of Sexual Misconduct — Including Groping — by 2 Women at NBC News: Reports
Tom Brokaw has been accused of making inappropriate advances towards two women.
Brokaw, who has been with NBC since anchoring the Today show in 1976, is the latest journalist alleged of sexual harassment following Matt Lauer‘s termination in the fall. Brokaw, 78, has been married to wife Meredith Auld since 1962.
In a Washington Post report published on Thursday, former NBC correspondent Linda Vester claimed Brokaw made an unwanted advance, including a forcible attempt to kiss her, on two occasions in the 1990s. At the time, Vester was in her 20s and did not file a complaint.
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“I met with Linda Vester on two occasions, both at her request, 23 years ago, because she wanted advice with respect to her career at NBC,” Brokaw said in a denial statement issued by NBC and obtained by The Post.
“The meetings were brief, cordial and appropriate, and despite Linda’s allegations, I made no romantic overtures towards her, at that time or any other,” the statement continued.
The second woman, who worked as a production assistant, anonymously told The Post that Brokaw acted inappropriately toward her in the ’90s. Brokaw also denied the second accusation.
A rep for Brokaw and NBC News did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Also on Thursday, Variety published an interview with Vester in which she claimed Brokaw groped her in an NBC conference room and showed up at her hotel room uninvited. Vester also shared her journal entries from the time period to the publication.
“What Linda is doing, like others before her have done, is to give her truthful account in the hope that other women will not have to endure what she did,” Vester’s attorney, Ari Wilkenfeld, said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE. (Wilkenfeld also represented one of the victims of Lauer’s sexual harassment.)
“Linda is literally seeking nothing for herself. She comes forward at her own expense and at her own peril. By her being willing to go on the record, perhaps this will embolden other brave women to tell their stories,” he said.
Brokaw commanded the anchor desk for NBC Nightly News for 22 years and is the only person to have hosted all three major NBC News programs: the Today show, NBC Nightly News and Meet the Press. He currently serves as a Special Correspondent for NBC News.
As recently as April 21, Brokaw appeared on an NBC News broadcast of former first lady Barbara Bush’s funeral.