Former "NBC Nightly News" anchor Tom Brokaw has been accused of sexual harassment by former NBC anchor Linda Vester, Variety reported Thursday in a bombshell report.
Tom Brokaw accused of groping, trying to force kisses on former NBC anchor Linda Vester
The accusations were reported by Variety, which also said that Brokaw, formerly the anchor of NBC's nightly news, denied them.
By The Wrap
Vester said that Brokaw tried to force her to kiss him on two separate occasions, groped her in a NBC conference room and showed up at her hotel room uninvited.
Two friends of Vester corroborated to Variety that she told them about the encounters at the time, and she shared her journal entries from the time period with the news outlet. Brokaw has never before been publicly accused of sexual harassment in the past.
NBC did not immediately respond to TheWrap's request for comment. Through a network spokesperson, Brokaw denied the accusations to Variety.
"I met with Linda Vester on two occasions, both at her request, 23 years ago because she wanted advice with respect to her career at NBC," Brokaw said. "The meetings were brief, cordial and appropriate, and despite Linda's allegations, I made no romantic overtures towards her at that time or any other."
Vester, who was 28 at the time of the supposed encounter, said she didn't report Brokaw to the police or NBC's human resources because she was scared it would end her career.
She has since left the network going on to work for Fox News through 2006.