NBCUniversal Vice Chairman Ron Meyer Resigns After Revealing Affair and Extortion Attempt

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NBCUniversal Vice Chairman Ron Meyer is stepping down from the company after he disclosed that a woman was attempting to extort him after their extramarital affair.

NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell announced the news in an email to the company, which noted that Meyer’s actions were inconsistent with the company’s values.

“I am writing to share some unfortunate news. Late last week Ron Meyer informed NBCUniversal that he had acted in a manner which we believe is not consistent with our company policies or values,” Shell wrote. “Based on Ron’s disclosure of these actions, we have mutually concluded that Ron should leave the company, effective immediately. We thank Ron for his 25 years of service, and for his significant contributions to NBCUniversal.”

Meyer, who had been working at NBCUniversal for roughly 25 years, developed close relationships with many notable actors, filmmakers, and other industry members, including Meryl Streep, Sylvester Stallone, and Tom Cruise.

“It is with a heavy heart that I announce my departure from NBCUniversal,” Meyer said in his own statement. “I recently disclosed to my family and the company that I made a settlement, under threat, with a woman outside the company who had made false accusations against me. Admittedly, this is a woman I had a very brief and consensual affair with many years ago. I made this disclosure because other parties learned of the settlement and have continuously attempted to extort me into paying them money or else they intended to falsely implicate NBCUniversal, which had nothing to do with this matter, and to publish false allegations about me.”

Meyer also co-founded the dominant talent agency CAA in 1975 with Mike Ovitz, Bill Haber, Rowland Perkins, and Michael Rosenfeld.