Only CNN wouldn’t fire someone who masturbated in front of a bunch of people. That’s their chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin. In October of 2020, Toobin decided to play with himself while on a Zoom call with staffers of The New Yorker. What got him going from that call is beyond a mystery and frankly, I really don’t want to go there, but he masturbated in front of everyone on the call. He was eventually fired by The New Yorker, where he was a contributor, but CNN decided to give him a second chance. Meanwhile, Rick Santorum was scalped for saying some not-so-politically correct things about Native Americans. Somehow that’s a worse offense than doing what Toobin did. He has a book coming out soon. The man is shameless, and so are his defenders. Take Never Trumper Ana Navarro offered a somewhat bizarre defense of Toobin. She said that his masturbation in public nightmare isn’t harassing anyone. Navarro did admit that the interview he did with host Alisyn Camerota about this incident was “embarrassing,” and that if she were in his place, she wouldn’t have the cajones to ever appear on television again. Yet, there’s always a “but” with this crew (via The Decider) [emphasis mine]:
Toobin was terminated from The New Yorker last October after he was caught masturbating on a live Zoom call, leaving his camera on. After eight months off the network, Toobin returned to CNN as their chief legal analyst last week. He was interviewed by CNN Newsroom‘s Alisyn Camerota, explaining that he “didn’t think other people could see [him]” when he committed the act, and that his conduct was “deeply moronic and indefensible.”
“Actually, I’m not surprised he’s back on the air,” Navarro said of his return. “But I will tell you when I saw that interview — oh, God, how embarrassing, how humiliating. I kept thinking to myself, ‘If I have to go on live TV and explain to the nation why I masturbated on a Zoom call, I think I’d rather go sell avocados under I-95 than get my job back on TV.'”
[…]
In the CNN interview, Toobin went on to explain that he’s trying to become a better person through therapy, public service, and an upcoming book about the Oklahoma City bombing. He apologized to CNN viewers “who thought [he] was a better person than this,” adding that he feels “very privileged and very lucky” that he gets the chance to try and rebuild himself.
“Look, I think some instances of sexual harassment are black and white,” Navarro said. “Some instances are more nuanced. He was not sexually harassing somebody — he didn’t have the intent to harass somebody. He was sexually harassing himself, maybe.”
While Toobin has made his return on CNN, he’s been fired by The New Yorker, where the incident occurred. Toobin spent 27 years at the magazine, where he was a staff writer. Navarro argued that since the issue was over at The New Yorker, Toobin should still be allowed back at CNN.
“He was on a Zoom call, it was an accidental exposure,” Navarro continued. “It was not a CNN call. It was with The New Yorker, from where he has been terminated and faced consequences.
Recommended
No, exposing yourself is harassment. Intentional or not, it’s a major HR and public relations nightmare, it’s Chernobyl-level. Also, Toobin couldn’t wait to get his jollies off until after the freakin’ Zoom call. He was that juiced up that he couldn’t wait. There must have been something interesting in his tabs, but sorry—masturbating in public is grade-A harassment. There are legal ramifications as well. This isn’t hard. And it’s funny how Navarro offered this analysis of Zoom-gate but was quick to say that the unsubstantiated and utterly false allegations of sexual misconduct lobbed against Brett Kavanaugh were enough that he should step aside when nominated for the Supreme Court. There were no gang rape rings, one of the more ludicrous allegations thrown out there, and Christine Blasey Ford—remember her—well, her lawyer decided to explain why she came forward. It wasn’t to tell “her truth.” It was to protect abortion rights, but you knew that already.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member