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Shrapnel from the Jeff Shell Bombshell

Inside the investigation, fallout, and succession drama at NBCU after yet another executive ouster.

jeff shell
Former NBCU C.E.O. Jeff Shell was terminated for cause following an investigation into an alleged affair with a subordinate. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Matthew Belloni
April 24, 2023

Ron Meyer’s phone must be blowing up. The former NBCUniversal vice chair was fired in 2020 by none other than Jeff Shell, his boss at the time, when Meyer admitted to being a victim of “extortion” after helping an actress with whom he’d had a consensual affair. That was the same actress who brought down the Warner Bros. C.E.O. Kevin Tsujihara a couple years prior. So the first question I asked Comcast when the news broke today that Shell was exiting as C.E.O of NBCU for, yes, having a consensual affair, was, It’s not Charlotte Kirk, is it?