New Yorker reporter Jeffrey Toobin has been suspended after exposing his penis on a company Zoom call last week.
Toobin exposed himself during a call with New Yorker and WNYC radio staffers, according to Vice. He apologized in a statement and called the incident “an embarrassingly stupid mistake.”
Vice later updated its article to note that Toobin was reportedly “masturbating” on a zoom call. Two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity reportedly said that they saw Toobin “jerking off,” per Vice.
“I made an embarrassingly stupid mistake, believing I was off-camera,” Toobin said in the statement. “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.”
In addition to being a staff writer at the New Yorker, Toobin is CNN’s chief legal analyst. The network said Monday that Toobin has been “granted” time off. He appeared on CNN as recently as Saturday, according to Vice.
BREAKING: New Yorker suspends CNN legal analyst Jeffery Toobin after exposing himself on a Zoom call.
CNN saying he has asked for “time off” while he deals with a “personal issue.”
— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) October 19, 2020
Statement from CNN: “Jeff Toobin has asked for some time off while he deals with a personal issue, which we have granted.”
— Jeremy Barr (@jeremymbarr) October 19, 2020
“Jeff Toobin has asked for some time off while he deals with a personal issue, which we have granted,” according to CNN.
Natalie Raabe, a spokesperson for the New Yorker, confirmed that “Toobin has been suspended while we investigate the matter,” Vice reported. Toobin has also not tweeted since October 13, although his CNN appearance occurred on October 17, according to the publication. (RELATED: Media Reacts After Former Fox News Editor Blasts New Yorker Exposé)