NBC employees were not expecting Jeff Shell to step down from his role as CEO.
On Sunday, April 23, the top executive announced that he was resigning from the network after CNBC journalist Hadley Gamble accused him of sexual harassment following an alleged workplace affair.
According to insiders, the entire company was rocked by the news as there “hadn’t been a whisper of an affair” prior to Shell's exit.
“Barely anybody knew there was even an investigation,” a source explained of the situation, adding, “and even fewer knew there had actually been an affair.”
“He was always very respectful, and respectful of women in particular,” one anonymous staffer explained of their former boss who allegedly began his romance with the Middle East-based anchor prior to being named CEO of the network. (Shell was still married to wife Laura Fay Shell during the time.)
In a statement announcing the end of his time with NBC, Shell said, “I had an inappropriate relationship with a woman in the company, which I deeply regret. I’m truly sorry I let my Comcast and NBCUniversal colleagues down.”
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In another turn of events, the Tennessee native had lodged a complaint against Jeff for sexual harassment and sex discrimination.
“The investigation into Mr. Shell arose from a complaint by my client of sexual harassment and sex discrimination,” Gamble's attorney Suzanne McKie explained.
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Comcast, the parent company of NBCUniversal, also issued a statement of their own, saying: “Following a complaint that Jeffrey Shell, CEO of NBCUniversal, engaged in inappropriate conduct with a female employee, including allegations of sexual harassment, Comcast Corporation (the 'Company') retained outside counsel to investigate the allegations."
“During the investigation, evidence was uncovered that corroborated the allegations," they continued. "As a consequence, on April 23, 2023, the Company terminated Mr. Shell’s employment With Cause under his employment agreement, effective immediately.”
Page Six spoke with sources about the scandal.
Variety obtained the statements from Jeff and Gamble's attorney.
