FARROW’S NBC SECRET
RONAN FARROW may further explore why NBC passed on the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment bombshell he finally got published in The New Yorker magazine while working as a reporter for the Peacock Network.
“There may be more to say about that further down the line and I think the questions that people are raising about how the media covered this issue over the years are very, very important,” he told us at Vital Voices’ Voices of Solidarity awards dinner in Chelsea, where he was an honoree.
Shortly after passing on Farrow’s story last month, NBC found itself dealing with its own sexual misconduct scandal involving “Today” anchor Matt
Lauer. Farrow (right, above) isn’t sure if his Weinstein reporting hit too close to home for NBC at the time. An NBC rep told us that is “absolutely not” the case.
“Right now, I just think it’s of crucial importance to keep the focus on the survivors coming forward,” Farrow said. As for his next story, Farrow won’t tip his hand.
“I can’t,” he said with a laugh. “But stay tuned.”
When Farrow took the stage to be honored for helping break the news of Weinstein’s sex scandal and expose many of the disgraced movie mogul’s enablers, he did thank NBC producer Rich
McHugh for standing by his side, even if the network didn’t.
“He is an unsung hero of this entire story,” Farrow said. He also complimented New Yorker editor David Remnick for giving his bombshell report the green light.
“He proved to me that courage still exists in journalism, and without him we might not be having this conversation today,” Farrow said.
Most importantly, Farrow credited Rosanna
Arquette, (photo, left) who introduced him at the event, for speaking out against Weinstein, whom she blames for trying to sabotage her career after she rebuffed his sexual advances.
“I will be grateful to you Rosanna for the rest of my life,” Farrow said. “Our society should be grateful to you and forever more.”