Reporter and CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin started trending on Monday after it was revealed he exposed his penis during a Zoom meeting last week.
As Vice reports, Toobin has since been suspended from the New Yorker for the incident, which he has apologized for. In a statement, he wrote, "I made an embarrassingly stupid mistake, believing I was off-camera. I apologize to my wife, family, friends and co-workers." He added, "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."
The call was conducted between members of the New Yorker and WNYC public radio. According to Motherboard, the call was an election simulation featuring many staff members from the New Yorker. There were also a handful of other producers on the call from the New Yorker and WNYC.
Per Vice:
Both people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to speak freely, noted that it was unclear how much each individual person on the call saw, but both of the people we spoke to said that they saw Toobin jerking off. The two sources described a juncture in the election simulation when there was a strategy session, and the Democrats and Republicans went into their respective break out rooms for about 10 minutes. At this point, they said, it seemed like Toobin was on a second video call. The sources said that when the groups returned from their break out rooms, Toobin lowered the camera. The people on the call said they could see Toobin touching his penis. Toobin then left the call. Moments later, he called back in, seemingly unaware of what his colleagues had been able to see, and the simulation continued.
While Toobin has yet to tweet since the incident took place, he has since appeared on CNN.
"Jeffrey Toobin has been suspended while we investigate the matter," said New Yorker spokesperson Natalie Raabe. CNN, meanwhile, shared a statement that indicated Toobin "asked for some time off."
See reactions to the "Zoom dick" incident below.
O. J. Simpson also commented on the news. Toobin wrote the 1996 book "The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson."
