Jeffrey Toobin has made a return to CNN after being gone since October, when his colleagues were treated to the site of his genitals on a live Zoom call. With the renewed title of CNN Chief Legal Analyst, Toobin was asked about the unfortunate events that led to his months’ long absence from cable news.
“I feel like we should address what’s happened in the months since we’ve seen you since our viewers may not know what has happened. So I guess I’ll recap—I’ll do the honors,” Alisyn Camerota said.
“In October, you were on a Zoom call with your colleagues from the New Yorker magazine. Everyone took a break for several minutes during which time you were caught masturbating on camera. You were subsequently fired from that job after working there for 27 years. And you since then have been on leave from CNN. Have I got all this right?”
“You’ve got it all right, sad to say,” Toobin said.
“What the hell were you thinking? Camerota asked.
“Well obviously I wasn’t thinking very much,” Toobin replied. “It was something that was inexplicable to me—I think one point, I wouldn’t exactly say in my defense, because nothing is in my defense, but I didn’t think I was on the call. I didn’t think other people could see me.”
“You thought that you had turned off your camera?” Camerota asked.
“Correct,” Toobin replied, “I thought that I had turned off the Zoom call. Now, that’s not a defense, this was deeply moronic, and indefensible, but that is part of the story. And I had spent the seven subsequent months, miserable months in my life, I can certainly confess, trying to be a better person.
“I mean, in therapy, trying to do some public service, working in a food bank, which I certainly am going to continue to do. Working on a new book about the Oklahoma City bombing, but I am trying to become the kind of person that people can trust again.”
