CNBC anchor Hadley Gamble accuses fired NBCUniversal boss Jeff Shell of sexual harassment
NBCUniversal boss Jeff Shell was ousted after CNBC International anchor Hadley Gamble formally accused the CEO of sexual harassment, a lawyer for Gamble confirmed in a statement Monday.
Shell’s shocking dismissal Sunday came after the married network honcho admitted he had “an inappropriate relationship with a woman in the company.”
NBCUniversal parent Comcast said it had terminated Shell after a company investigation “led by outside counsel into a complaint of inappropriate conduct.”
Gamble, who has been with CNBC since 2010, allegedly began a tryst with Shell “11 years ago and [it] continued sporadically up until a couple of years ago when it ended,” according to Deadline.
The outlet’s report late Sunday prompted Gamble’s lawyer to respond.
“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.
McKie’s statement did not include any additional details about the complaint.
The Post has reached out to Gamble’s lawyer and NBCUniversal for comment.
NBCUniversal owns CNBC, where Gamble works as an anchor and senior international correspondent with a focus on energy, geopolitics and financial markets, according to her bio on the network’s website.
She also hosts the show “Capital Connection” from CNBC’s outpost in the Middle East.
NBCUniversal fired Shell for cause and does not plan to pay him any severance, sources told the Journal.
Everything you need to know about Jeff Shell's departure from NBC
What happened?
Jeff Shell, NBCUniversal’s now-former CEO who is also married, left his position on Sunday after admitting he had “an inappropriate relationship” with a co-worker.
It was revealed Shell had an affair, which reportedly lasted about a decade, with CNBC International anchor Hadley Gamble.
The anchor accused Shell, who has worked at NBCUniversal’s parent company Comcast, of “sexual harassment and sex discrimination,” according to her lawyer.
Comcast said Shell left his position after a company investigation “led by outside counsel into a complaint of inappropriate conduct.”
As of Monday, the media titan has yet to announce who Shell’s successor will be.
NBCUniversal, however, did announce that the organization’s senior managers will directly report to Comcast President Mike Cavanagh.
Who is Gamble?
Gamble is a veteran journalist who has worked with CNBC since 2010.
She worked as a CNBC anchor in Dubai and has interviewed the likes of Pope Francis, Jordanian King Abdullah, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.
Before Shell’s bombshell departure, Gamble was best known as one of the last Western reporters to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin before the invasion of Ukraine last year.
The anchor was accused by Russian state media of acting “as a sex object” who was out to distract Putin while interviewing Putin at an energy conference in Moscow.
Gamble allegedly began a tryst with Shell “11 years ago and [it] continued sporadically up until a couple of years ago when it ended,” according to Deadline.
Shell had worked at the company for nearly two decades and served as chief executive since 2020.
“Today is my last day as CEO of NBCUniversal,” Shell said in a statement Sunday. “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,” the statement added. “They are the most talented people in the business and the opportunity to work with them the last 10 years has been a privilege.”
Gamble was notably one of the last Western journalists to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin prior to the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine last year.
Following the October 2021 interview, Russian state media alleged that Gamble had acted “as a sex object” to distract Putin — even going as far as to claim that she was part of a US “special operation.”
