Disgraced New Yorker Scribe Jeffrey Toobin has been accused of sending an explicit voicemail to a magazine journalist when he was contemplating a divorce with his wife. Lisa DePaulo said that Toobin described a sex act which he intended to perform with her.
As previously reported Toobin shot into the limelight after he was caught masturbating during a zoom call. The New Yorker writer was suspended and placed under investigation after he exposed himself to participants, including employees of the magazine and WNYC radio, during a live meeting.
Toobin 'Reconciled' With His Wife After Sending the Explicit Voice Note
Speaking to the New York Times about the incident which occurred in 2003, DePaulo, who has worked with New Yorker Magazine and GQ, said that Toobin left her a voicemail describing a sex act he planned to perform on her.
"It was just like, 'Jeffrey? Ick!'" said DePaulo, adding that Toobin had told her about splitting from his wife, Amy McIntosh, before asking her out for New Year's Eve. The voicemail was sent to DePaulo few days after she went on a date with him. "I kept the message and played it for all my friends," she said adding that Toobin later called to confirm the delivery of the message.
"Usually someone takes me to dinner first. didn't think he was a sexual predator. I just thought he was a nice guy who was pervy," DePaulo told the outlet.
Malcolm Gladwell Defends Toobin's Masturbation Scandal
In the article published by the outlet, additional details emerged from the scandal that led to the downfall and public mockery of the scribe. Stating that the infamous incident, which occurred on October 15, left everyone shocked New Yorker staff writer Masha Gessen said: "It wasn't a full-out sexual act, but it was much more than a second. I was really, truly shocked."
During the virtual gathering the 60-year-old "was seen lowering and raising his computer camera, exposing and touching his penis, and motioning an air kiss to someone other than his colleagues," the Times reported.
Coming to the disgraced scribe's aid, New Yorker writer Malcolm Gladwell called Toobin's public flogging unfair. "They just assumed he had done something terrible, but never told us what the terrible thing was," Gladwell said adding, "My only feeling — the only way I could explain it — was that Condé Nast had taken an unexpected turn toward traditional Catholic teaching," he added, referring to The New Yorker's parent company.
Toobin also received support from Former Vanity Fair and New Yorker editor Tina Brown who said that 27 years of superb reporting and commitment to The New Yorker should have been weighed against an incident that horribly embarrassed the magazine but mostly embarrassed himself.
"I think it's tragic that a guy would get fired for really just doing something really stupid. It is the Zoom equivalent of taking an inappropriately long lunch break, having sex during it and getting stumbled upon," Gessen told the outlet.
