Rich McHugh reacts to NBC rejecting Ronan Farrow's report on Harvey Weinstein
Rich McHugh reacts to NBC rejecting Ronan Farrow's report on Harvey Weinstein
A former NBC producer who worked with journalist Ronan Farrow on his reporting of sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein claimed the network lied to him on multiple occasions.
Rich McHugh told "Tucker Carlson Tonight" Tuesday he also purportedly confronted NBC News President Noah Oppenheim about allegations against former "Today" anchor Matt Lauer.
"I think everybody who's read the book, first of all -- "Catch and Kill" -- now see what it was about," he said.
"Ronan did an excellent job of connecting the dots. This was a very powerful person at the time. Harvey Weinstein was still one of the biggest, if not the biggest producer in Hollywood."
McHugh claimed Weinstein had "an extreme ability" to kill news reports.
"[He] had done it for years and I think this was about -- I think he figured out that NBC had an Achilles' heel... NBC had a 'Matt Lauer problem' and everybody was aware of it and I think Weinstein exploited that."
He claimed a Weinstein attorney was once given "assurance" from NBC they would not be doing a story on his client, adding he had never heard of such a dynamic in the media business.
To that extent, host Tucker Carlson asked McHugh about a section in his recent Vanity Fair piece on the matter, in which the ex-producer claimed he confronted Oppenheim in a meeting demanding to know whether the news chief had any indication Lauer had been accused of sexual misconduct.
RONAN FARROW SAYS HILLARY CLINTON STAFF 'RAISED CONCERNS' ABOUT HIS WEINSTEIN REPORTING
"That happened, yes," he said. "And, did I believe it? No."
Later in the interview, Carlson said McHugh claimed Oppenheim and Weinstein were exchanging text messages and gifts after his and Farrow's report was rejected.
More from Media
In response, McHugh said he was disappointed when he heard about that dynamic.
"I have no animosity against these people, but it's clear to me that we were lied to over and over, and it's just not right," McHugh said. "Especially coming from a news organization."
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
In his Vanity Fair story, McHugh wrote that the orders to stop reporting on Weinstein were what led to his resignation from the network.
"[NBC News and MSNBC Chairman Andrew] Lack and Oppenheim were the ones who were lying," he wrote.
"They not only personally intervened to shut down our investigation of Weinstein, they even refused to allow me to follow up on our work after Weinstein’s history of sexual assault became front-page news. "
Farrow was later able to have his reporting published in the New Yorker in 2017.
Fox News First
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.