A former colleague of Jeffrey Toobin has broken her silence over his ‘pervy’ behavior, claiming he left a message on her voicemail detailing a sex act he planned to perform on her before calling days later to tell her he was back with his wife.
Journalist Lisa DePaulo told the New York Times about the alleged incident in 2003, as it emerged that CNN is still employing Jeffrey Toobin more than one month after he was fired from the New Yorker for allegedly masturbating on a work Zoom call.
The disgraced journalist, 60, was on an ‘election simulation’ video call with New Yorker colleagues in mid-October when, thinking he was off-camera, he allegedly pulled out his penis and masturbated in full view of the other participants.
He was immediately suspended by the magazine pending an investigation before being fired last month, with parent company Condé Nast telling staff in a memo it takes ‘workplace matters seriously’.
But, almost two months on since the scandal first broke, CNN is still yet to take any action or publicly address his future with the company where he has been a regular on-screen presence for nearly two decades.
A former colleague of Jeffrey Toobin has broken her silence over his ‘pervy’ behavior, claiming he left a message on her voicemail detailing a sex act he planned to perform on her before calling days later to tell her he was back with his wife. Toobin and wife Amy McIntosh
Journalist Lisa DePaulo (pictured in 2010) told the New York Times about the alleged incident in 2003, as it emerged that CNN is still employing Jeffrey Toobin more than one month after he was fired from the New Yorker for allegedly masturbating on a work Zoom call
New claims of ‘pervy’ behavior from the 60-year-old journalist and former attorney have now emerged about his time with publishing giant Condé Nast.
DePaulo, who has worked across numerous publications including Vanity Fair, Elle Vogue, and the Philadelphia Inquirer, told the Times about an alleged incident in 2003 where he told her he was separated from his wife of 34 years Amy McIntosh and asked her out to celebrate New Year’s Eve with him.
A few days later, DePaulo said Toobin left her a voicemail describing the sex act he wanted to do to her.
‘I kept the message and played it for all my friends,’ DePaulo told the Times.
She said Toobin later called to check she had received the message and to tell her he was back with his wife.
‘I didn’t think he was a sexual predator. I just thought he was a nice guy who was pervy. It was just like, ‘Jeffrey? Ick!’ said DePaulo.
The latest sex scandal to rock the veteran journalist comes as CNN confirmed it is still employing Toobin in the wake of the alleged masturbation incident.
The claims come as CNN confirmed it is still employing Jeffrey Toobin more than one month after he was fired from the New Yorker for allegedly masturbating on a work Zoom call
A spokesperson for the network told the New York Times Toobin remains in his role as its chief legal analyst but would not provide further comment.
DailyMail.com has also reached out to CNN for comment.
Sources have suggested CNN’s lack of reproach could be down to Toobin enjoying the favor of network president Jeff Zucker.
Zucker is said to be a big fan of Toobin and believes in giving second chances, three current CNN employees told the Times.
Zucker (above) is said to be a big fan of Toobin and believes in giving second chances, three CNN employees said
However, according to another report from the Times this week, Zucker’s days with the network could also be numbered.
Sources have spoken of clashes between the former NBC boss and his new boss WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar and Zucker is weighing up over the holidays whether he will quit in the new year.
If he does, Toobin may find himself losing the apparent protection he enjoys under Zucker’s watch.
At the time of the incident, Toobin asked for a leave of absence from CNN.
‘Jeff Toobin has asked for some time off while he deals with a personal issue, which we have granted,’ a spokesperson for CNN said at the time.
CNN correspondent Brian Stelter then faced a backlash after he downplayed his colleague’s actions as an ‘accident’ the day after news of the scandal broke.
‘Jeffrey Toobin has been sidelined at a pivotal moment in the run-up to the presidential election,’ Stelter tweeted.
‘The reason: He exposed himself during a Zoom call with New Yorker colleagues in what he says was an accident.’
Sources suggested CNN’s lack of reproach could be down to network president Jeff Zucker being a big fan of Toobin and believing in giving second chances. Toobin spotted in New York last month
A female New Yorker employee has broken her silence to claim Toobin was ‘pervy’ toward her and left a message on her voicemail detailing a sex act he planned to perform on her in 2003
Since then, the network has stayed silent over both the incident and his future with the network.
The masturbation incident and the new claims from DePaulo mark just the latest in a string of sex scandals involving Toobin over the years.
He had a decade-long on-off affair with Casey Greenfield, a lawyer who was 13 years his junior, while married to McIntosh and Greenfield got pregnant in 2008.
Sources told New York Daily News at the time that Toobin offered her money for an abortion and also offered to pay for her to ‘swap’ pregnancies – if she agreed to terminate her pregnancy he would pay for her to have a child with a sperm donor.
Greenfield, who was 35 at the time, went ahead with the pregnancy and gave birth to a son called Rory.
Greenfield then sued her lover for child support, according to The New York Times.
Toobin has been plagued by numerous sexual scandals over the years. Pictured with his wife of 34 years Amy McIntosh in 2017
Toobin previously had a decade-long on-off affair with fellow lawyer Casey Greenfield who is 13 years younger than Toobin and got pregnant in 2008
The case dragged through the courts for two years with Toobin contesting many aspects of his ex’s case.
Eventually he took a DNA test that proved he was the father and Greenfield, the daughter of Toobin’s former CNN colleague Jeff Greenfield, won full custody of the boy, and given all decision-making rights on his upbringing.
Toobin has also been described as a sexual predator by another unidentified female.
A woman the New York Daily News described as ‘a well-known media figure’ claimed he had approached her at a party many years ago.
‘He came up behind me and whispered in my ear,’ she told the paper.
‘I couldn’t believe my ears. It was so disgusting. At the time, I never even knew people did that,’ the media figure said.
The Daily News refused to say exactly what he allegedly said, claiming it was unfit for a family newspaper.
When the woman turned him down, she described how he allegedly followed her to her hotel room.
Toobin pictured October 20 – the day after it was learned he had been suspended by the New Yorker after being caught masturbating on a Zoom call
Toobin (pictured walking his dog the day after the scandal broke) is also CNN’s chief legal analyst. He was also placed on leave from CNN at the time but, as of now, still remains employed by the outlet
‘He tried to invite himself in. He said, ‘You know you want it.’ I said, ‘No, actually I don’t.’
Masha Gessen, who witnessed Toobin’s latest indiscretion on the now-infamous Zoom call, told the Times she was ‘shocked’ when it happened and found the ordeal ‘traumatic’.
‘It wasn’t a full-out sexual act, but it was much more than a second. I was really, truly shocked,’ she said.
Gessen added that she now feels sorry for Toobin for losing his job at the New Yorker over the incident.
‘I think it’s tragic that a guy would get fired for really just doing something really stupid,’ she said.
‘It is the Zoom equivalent of taking an inappropriately long lunch break, having sex during it and getting stumbled upon.’
Jeffrey Toobin tweeted last month that he was been fired from the New Yorker three weeks after allegedly being caught masturbating on a Zoom call with magazine staff
Toobin walking his dog with his wife after he announced his firing from the New Yorker
Toobin pictured last month. At the time of the Zoom incident, Toobin asked for a leave of absence from CNN
But most are less sympathetic with Toobin being slammed on social media when he announced his firing on November 11.
In his short Twitter announcement he failed to apologize or address the reason he was fired.
‘I was fired today by @NewYorker after 27 years as a Staff Writer,’ he tweeted.
‘I will always love the magazine, will miss my colleagues, and will look forward to reading their work.’
Condé Nast broke the news to staff the same day saying in a company memo that it takes ‘workplace matters seriously’.
‘I am writing to share with you that our investigation regarding Jeffrey Toobin is complete, and as a result, he is no longer affiliated with our company,’ read the memo from Condé Nast’s Chief People Officer Stan Duncan, per The Daily Beast.
‘I want to assure everyone that we take workplace matters seriously. We are committed to fostering an environment where everyone feels respected and upholds our standards of conduct,’ the memo added.
Other organizations have also distanced themselves from Toobin since the alleged masturbation Zoom call.
HBO edited his image out of an episode of ‘The Undoing’ in late November, where he played himself, but left his voice.
And New York Public Radio, which Toobin regularly contributed to, banned him ‘indefinitely’ from its airwaves and podcasts just days after the incident.