Today we learned that getting caught masturbating on a Zoom work call will not get you fired from CNN

Greg P. | 9:40 AM on December 15, 2020

LOL New York Times. WTF is this?

How the journalist Jeffrey Toobin went from respected New Yorker writer to hashtag, punchline, and subject of debate. https://t.co/m5xAot668D

— The New York Times (@nytimes) December 15, 2020

It’s a real mystery!

I’ll save you some time: it’s because he took his dick out on a work zoom call https://t.co/dkIzNAs6ai

— Laura Bassett (@LEBassett) December 15, 2020

Did the NYT really need to explain this to their readers?

I mean, did we need a whole article to tell us that whipping your dong out on a Zoom event would lead to your downfall? https://t.co/XtmRuOWx0L

— Emily C. Singer (@CahnEmily) December 15, 2020

It’s like the blue-checks are outdoing one another to come up with descriptions of what happened:

It’s been hard to keep up with the news these days but I’m pretty sure it was for cranking his hog on a work Zoom. https://t.co/fODvwAW8gR

— Sean Newell (@dontforgetmac) December 15, 2020

And:

By taking matters into his own hands. https://t.co/uCKZ5E4DB3

— PEG (@pegobry) December 15, 2020

But as bad as this profile is for the NYT’s reputation. . .

Oh, to see this long and sympathetic a profile of any one of the millions of women who've experienced sexual harassment and been fired/hounded out of jobs and industries when they've dared to speak up about it. #TimesUp @TIMESUPNOW https://t.co/Bk61aGW3LG

— Cindy Gallop (@cindygallop) December 15, 2020

It’s unclear if, when or how Mr. Toobin will return to public life. He is on leave from CNN, whose executives are unwilling to discuss his future. (A spokeswoman confirmed that he remains the network’s chief legal analyst but would not comment further.) Three CNN employees say that network president, Jeff Zucker, is a big fan of Mr. Toobin’s and a believer in second chances. But Mr. Zucker may be leaving CNN in 2021, making his opinion perhaps irrelevant.

In summary, this was a firable offense at the New Yorker but not at CNN. Maybe CNN’s intrepid media reporter, Brian Stelter, can take a swing at this one?

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