NBC News under fire for spiking another #MeToo story about showbiz mogul

NBC News is facing renewed heat after a report by The Hollywood Reporter contended the network spiked another MeToo story against a powerful entertainment industry magnate.

The piece, by veteran journalist Kim Masters, detailed the story of Sil Lai Abrams, who says she was raped by music mogul Russell Simmons in 1994 and was sexually assaulted by “Extra” host A.J. Calloway in 2006. The accusations were being investigated by MSNBC anchor Joy Reid, who, in a series of texts to Abrams, accused her own network of “slow walking the story with idiotic requests,” THR reported.

“When MSNBC pursues any investigative story our mission is always to be as thorough as we can, to scrutinize sources and corroborate information before we report. Anything else falls short of our journalistic standards,” said the network in a statement explaining why it didn’t go forward with Abrams’ accusations.

See photos of Sil Lai Abrams:

Also Read:NBC News Chief Says Ronan Farrow's Harvey Weinstein Story Was Not Ready When He Saw It

The official line carries an eerie similarity to explanations offered by the network about why they passed on the Harvey Weinstein story. The report about the man whose sexual misdeeds sparked the MeToo movement was published in the New Yorker after then-MSNBC journalist Ronan Farrow said the network killed it.

“I walked into the door at The New Yorker with an explosively reportable piece that should have been public earlier and immediately, obviously The New Yorker recognized that,” he told Rachel Maddow in October last year. “And it is not accurate to say it was not reportable and there were multiple determinations that it was reportable at NBC.”

Before Weinstein, NBC also lost out on the story of President Trump’s Access Hollywood scandal in October, 2016. The network passed on the opportunity to publish the tape, which had long been in NBC’s possession. The network ultimately published the tape after it leaked to the Washington Post.

MSNBC’s Joy Reid said in a statement it had been “inappropriate” to share her private frustrations about MSNBC’s process with Abrams. But on Thursday, Reid’s private venting was joined by several others online who took note of the disturbing pattern at the peacock network.

“Since November 2017 I have fought to have my #MeToo story told,” said Abrams leading the charge “@kimmasters of @THR finally did what NBC would not. Thank you.”

Read original story NBC News Under Fire for Spiking Another #MeToo Story About Showbiz Mogul At TheWrap