Jeffrey Toobin, a staff writer for the New Yorker, was suspended by the outlet after colleagues saw him masturbating during a work–related Zoom call.
Toobin, 60, who is also the chief legal analyst at CNN, said he thought his camera was off when the awkward moment happened during a call between members of the New Yorker and WNYC radio last week, according to Vice News.
“Jeffrey Toobin has been suspended while we investigate the matter,” New Yorker spokeswoman Natalie Raabe told the outlet. Raabe directed the Washington Examiner to her quote for Vice News when asked to comment.
The incident occurred during a Zoom election simulation in which some of the most prominent people at the New Yorker role played how the election could turn out, two staffers who were given anonymity told Vice News. Toobin was designated as the courts. At the time when the Democrats and Republicans split off into separate breakout groups was when Toobin began masturbating with the computer screen lowered so his penis was visible. Both people said they saw Toobin touching his penis and it appeared like he was in a second, unrelated video call.
He then left the Zoom chat with colleagues only to return moments later seemingly unaware of what people saw him do.
Toobin apologized for the incident, saying, “I made an embarrassingly stupid mistake, believing I was off-camera. I apologize to my wife, family, friends, and co-workers.” He added: “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.”
New Yorker editor David Remnick addressed the situation in an email to all New Yorker staffers.
“Dear All, As you may have read in various news reports today, one of our writers, Jeff Toobin, was suspended after an incident on a Zoom call last week,” he wrote. “Please be assured that we take such matters seriously and that we are looking into it. Best, David.”
A CNN spokesman told the Washington Examiner that Toobin will take a break from the network. “Jeff Toobin has asked for some time off while he deals with a personal issue, which we have granted,” the representative said.
