Activists ask NBC to release NDAs, hold independent probe

NEW YORK » Activists called upon NBC Universal on Saturday to allow former employees to speak out freely on sexual harassment in the workplace without restriction, rather than having to come to the company first to be released from non-disclosure agreements.

The company said Saturday that any former employee who believes they cannot disclose their experience with sexual harassment as a result of a nondisparagement agreement should contact the company, “and we will release them from that perceived obligation.”

The statement, which was emailed to The Associated Press, was first reported Friday night by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, in an emotional segment introducing author Ronan Farrow. The highly influential MSNBC host expressed deep concern that her own company’s bosses had thwarted Farrow’s reporting on sexual misconduct allegations against Harvey Weinstein — reporting which he then took to The New Yorker, where he won a Pulitzer Prize.

Maddow also pointedly questioned NBC’s failure to launch an independent investigation of both the handling of the Weinstein story and of the behavior of Matt Lauer, the former “Today” anchor fired in 2017 over sexual misconduct allegations.

On Saturday, Tina Tchen, incoming president and CEO of Time’s Up, said NBC Universal, while taking a useful first step, hadn’t gone far enough to release employees from non-disclosure agreements or other restrictive clauses. She said NBC should simply state that everyone is free to speak, without fear of retaliation.

“If NBC Universal is truly committed to letting survivors and employees speak out about sexual harassment at the network, it should simply release them from their non-disclosure agreements,” she said. “There is no reason to place the burden on those who choose to speak to reveal themselves in advance to NBC Universal. This is an example of the burdens that perpetuate fear and silence, no matter what new policies and trainings may say.”

Tchen, who takes up her duties next week, added that the company must, like some other companies have, commit “to an independent, outside investigation into all the circumstances surrounding workplace culture at NBC and the journalistic decisions made at this important news outlet ... As an employer and especially as a news organization, NBC Universal should want to know the unvarnished truth.”

NBC conducted its own internal investigation on the actions of its executives into how Farrow’s Weinstein story was handled, and how sexual misconduct allegations were handled.