It’s not part of today’s string of high-profile media firings (Tucker Carlson, Don Lemon) because this one was actually announced yesterday. After an investigation, NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell was ousted over an inappropriate relationship. He reportedly will not receive any severance. The announcement was made in a press release including a statement from Shell.

Comcast today announced that the Company and Jeff Shell, Chief Executive Officer of NBCUniversal, have mutually agreed that Mr. Shell will depart effective immediately following the Company’s investigation led by outside counsel into a complaint of inappropriate conduct.

Mr. Shell said, “Today is my last day as CEO of NBCUniversal. I had an inappropriate relationship with a woman in the company, which I deeply regret. I’m truly sorry I let my Comcast and NBCUniversal colleagues down, they are the most talented people in the business and the opportunity to work with them the last 19 years has been a privilege.”

The investigation into Shell began two weeks ago with a complaint from the woman he was having the relationship with.

The inquiry into Mr. Shell began in recent weeks after the woman involved in the relationship came forward with a complaint, according to two people familiar with the timeline of the investigation. Mr. Shell continued in his duties while the investigation proceeded, taking previously scheduled meetings with lawmakers in Washington and working on other matters. Mr. Shell was also scheduled to attend the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington with his wife next Saturday.

The investigation, conducted by an outside law firm, was not widely known at Comcast until its conclusion, according to three people familiar with the matter. Mr. Roberts and Mr. Cavanagh called executives who directly work with Mr. Shell over the weekend to tell them Mr. Shell was leaving and to brief them on the leadership transition.

Deadline is reporting that the woman in question is CNBC anchor Hadley Gamble (pictured above):

Deadline has learned that Shell had a relationship with Gamble which started about 11 years ago and continued sporadically up until a couple of years ago when it ended. Shell was chairman of NBCUniversal International from 2011 to 2013 before becoming chairman, Universal Filmed Entertainment and eventually NBCU CEO in 2020.

The complaint was lodged within the past month, Deadline has learned. The matter went all the way to Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts through the proper channels and was handled expediently, sources said. The outside law firm hired to investigate delivered their findings to top Comcast brass within the past week, we hear.

Deadline has learned that there was communication between Shell and Gamble via company email which came to light in the investigation.

That makes it sound as if this was a consensual affair at work, one which lasted for nearly a decade. But the latest reports on this indicate that Gamble’s complaint was that she had been sexually harassed by Shell.

“The investigation into Mr. Shell arose from a complaint by my client of sexual harassment and sex discrimination,” attorney Suzanne McKie, a managing partner of the United Kingdom-based firm Farore Law, said in a statement obtained by the Wall Street Journal.

“Given these circumstances it is very disappointing that my client’s name has been released and her privacy violated,” McKie added.

This doesn’t really make sense yet, probably because none of these reports offer any real details revealing what the complaint was about. Maybe the affair ended and Shell continued to pursue it? They both have lawyers and given the firing it seems Shell has admitted to some kind of inappropriate behavior. This looks like something that is headed to some sort of settlement but I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

The NY Post points out that Gamble interviewed Putin back in 2021 and afterwards state media had some unusual comments about the interview:

Gamble’s appearance and attire were mercilessly picked apart on numerous state TV programs. Pro-Kremlin propagandists portrayed a seasoned professional journalist as a mere honeypot—a covert agent aiming to use sexual attraction to compromise an intended target. On Sunday’s broadcast of Vesti Nedeli, the notorious propagandist Dmitry Kiselyov—best known for stating that “Russia is the only country in the world that is realistically capable of turning the United States into radioactive ash”—chimed in with his borderline obsessive critique of the American journalist.

Kiselyov claimed that Gamble acted “shamelessly,” “cast wistful glances,” and provocatively moved her legs. With an obvious reference to Sharon Stone’s character in the feature film Basic Instinct, Vesti Nedeli asserted that Hadley Gamble’s “basic instinct” prevented her from comprehending Putin’s answers to her questions. Based on the journalist’s Instagram photos, Kiselyov alleged that Gamble intentionally lost weight in anticipation of meeting Putin. Dissecting every aspect of the forum moderator’s appearance in his creepy monologue, Kiselyov noted everything—from her “spiky earrings” and “a giant yellow ring,” down to skincare and body language.

The state TV host said, “In Moscow, Hadley squeezed into a tight black dress, fluffed up her flowing hair, and put on a pair of nude leg-lengthening Louboutin high-heel pumps… Hadley Gamble elected to show up to meet the president without stockings and with exposed arms… By the way, about her legs. They were covered in shimmering body oil, as though this wasn’t a work assignment.”

Putin himself said she was too beautiful to understand his answers. Anyway, her looks certainly garnered a lot of attention.