The #MeToo movement claimed another victim this week. A former NBC correspondent claims that esteemed anchor Tom Brokaw humiliated her in the 90’s by tickling her and trying to kiss her.
Linda Vester went public Thursday. She claims that her entire goal is to protect future women from what she went through.
“I’m standing there, and Tom Brokaw enters through the door and grabs me from behind and proceeds to tickle me up and down my waist,” she said.
“I jumped a foot and I looked at a guy who was the senior editor of ‘Nightly [News],’ and his jaw was hanging open. Nobody acted like anything wrong was happening, but I was humiliated.”
Vester also said that Brokaw tried to kiss her twice.
“I met with Linda Vester on two occasions, both at her request, 23 years ago, because she wanted advice with respect to her career at NBC,” Brokaw said in his defense.
“The meetings were brief, cordial and appropriate, and despite Linda’s allegations, I made no romantic overtures towards her, at that time or any other.”
Like most #MeToo cases, the matter depends on who you believe. Do you think Brokaw is lying? Or Vester? It might be hard for people to muster a lot of interest for a tickle attack that occurred more than two decades ago.
“There was a culture at NBC News, in my experience, where women who raise questions about misconduct get labeled as troublemakers,” Vester said. “It can torpedo your career.”
Another woman told the Washington Post that Brokaw behaved inappropriately with her, but the details of her allegations weren’t revealed. Brokaw claimed innocence then as well.
Some people believe that Vester is trying to drum up interest in her career. She denies this.
“Linda is literally seeking nothing for herself. She comes forward at her own expense and at her own peril,” Vester’s lawyer, Ari Wilkenfeld, said.
(Source: Page Six)