In addition to its investigation into accusations of workplace misbehavior against former NBC Entertainment chairman Paul Telegdy, NBCUniversal will undergo a “broader culture assessment.”
“We are going to conduct both an investigation into the specific allegations, which will be led by an experienced outside investigator, and a broader culture assessment. The culture assessment will be facilitated by NBCU’s corporate Fair Employment team and will give me the chance to learn more about your experiences,” Mark Lazarus, NBCUniversal’s chairman of television and streaming, said in an internal email on Friday. “I want to hear from you, and I encourage all of you to participate. Once it’s complete, you have my commitment to develop and communicate an action plan based on your feedback.”
Telegdy departed as NBC Entertainment chairman on Thursday, less than a week after damaging accusations against him and alternative programming head Meredith Ahr, whose fate is still to be decided.
In a bombshell report on July 31 by the The Hollywood Reporter, Telegdy was accused of numerous transgressions including mocking gay executives to their faces, using homophobic and misogynistic slurs and making disparaging comments about others’ physical appearance. Telegdy and Ahr were both accused of creating a “terrible, even traumatizing experience” in the reality division. The story added that Telegdy had bad relationships with “SNL” boss Lorne Michaels and uber-producer Dick Wolf.
“The investigation and assessment will happen simultaneously and will begin in the next few days,” Lazarus continued. “I believe the building blocks of great culture start with inclusion, transparency and trust; and I know we can get there together.”
Telegdy’s exit was part of a larger reorganization under Lazarus, which reformed the TV and streaming operations into three new business units: Direct to Consumer, Entertainment Programming and Entertainment Business. (More on that here).