By Doha Madani for NBC News
The
New Yorker
magazine
decided to suspend writer
Jeffrey Toobin on
Monday
pending investigation of an incident during a teleconference
between the magazine and WNYC radio staff in which he exposed his private parts, according to reports.
Toobin, who also works as a legal analyst for CNN, described the incident as "an accident" in a statement to Vice Media, which first reported the suspension.
The New Yorker
confirmed Toobin's suspension to NBC News in a statement also saying it is investigating the incident.
[The singer Plácido Domingo sexually harassed 27 women, according to an investigation]
"I thought it wasn't visible on Zoom
," Toobin said in his statement to Motherboard, Vice's technology section.
“I thought no one on Zoom's call could see me.
I thought I had muted the Zoom video. "
The 60-year-old writer and CNN contributor also said it was a "shamefully stupid mistake" and apologized to his family and colleagues.
An email sent to Toobin's account at
The New Yorker
requesting comment was marked "undeliverable."
The writer has not posted to his public account on the social network Twitter since October 13.
A Toobin agent with publisher Random House referred NBC News to CNN, in response to a request for comment.
Reports of sexual harassment against minors soar during the pandemic
Sept.
29, 202001: 29
"Jeff Toobin has requested time off, which we have granted, while he deals with a personal problem," a CNN spokesman said in a statement.
Toobin has worked as a legal analyst for CNN since 2002 and has been a writer for the
New Yorker
since 1993. He
has written several books, including 'The People v.
OJ Simpson: American Crime Story '
(People vs.
OJ Simpson: American Crime Story
), which became a popular television series that won nine Emmy Awards.
[“The Most Miserable Experience of My Life”: 15 Women Accused Washington Redskins Executives of Sexual Harassment]
His latest book, titled 'True Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Donald Trump Investigation' was published in August by Penguin Random House, LLC.
