Jeffrey Toobin, a prominent writer and CNN’s chief legal analyst, was fired from The New Yorker on Wednesday after he accidentally exposed himself to colleagues with the New Yorker and WNYC during a Zoom call last month.
“I am writing to share with you that our investigation regarding Jeffrey Toobin is complete, and as a result, he is no longer affiliated with our company,” Stan Duncan, chief people officer at Condé Nast, which owns the New Yorker, wrote in an email to employees.
“I want to assure everyone that we take workplace matters seriously,” Duncan added. “We are committed to fostering an environment where everyone feels respected and upholds our standards of conduct.”
Toobin confirmed the news on Twitter, writing, “I was fired today by @NewYorker after 27 years as a Staff Writer. I will always love the magazine, will miss my colleagues, and will look forward to reading their work.”
Multiple people familiar with the matter told CNN that Toobin exposed himself when he began masturbating during the Zoom call, apparently as part of a different video call. The people did not believe he intended his colleagues to witness it.
When the incident happened in October, Toobin said in a statement, “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,” he added. “I thought no one on the Zoom call could see me. I thought I had muted the Zoom video.”
Toobin declined to comment further to CNN.
A spokesperson for CNN did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Toobin’s status at the network. Last month, a CNN spokesperson said that following the Zoom incident, Toobin had “asked for some time off” and that the network had granted it.
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