MSNBC President Phil Griffin Allegedly Waved Around a Picture of Maria Menounos's Naked Crotch at a Staff Meeting

Ronan Farrow’s new book Catch and Kill, which is expected to be released on October 15, appears to be so stuffed with stories of powerful men doing absolutely atrocious things that the narratives have become inextricably intertwined.

Last week, news broke that Today host Matt Lauer was fired after a co-worker reportedly told network executives that Lauer raped her in his hotel room at the Sochi Olympics. Now, the Daily Mail is reporting the book also contains accusations that MSNBC president Phil Griffin waved around a printed out paparazzi image of entertainment reporter Maria Menounos’s crotch at a staff meeting. The image was published without Menounos’s consent after her swimsuit slipped and accidentally exposed her body while she was on vacation. In the printout, Griffin had allegedly “zoomed-in” on her crotch, and sources say he “exhaled hard” as he looked at it in front of staffers, calling the picture “Not bad.”

Griffin, who worked for NBC’s Nightly News before heading to MSNBC, was also allegedly part of a “triumvirate” of news executives Harvey Weinstein repeatedly called amidst the barrage of sexual assault allegations that Farrow reported. Also included in the triumvirate, according to Farrow’s book, was NBC News President Noah Oppenheim, the executive to whom Brooke Nevils says she reported the rape allegations against Matt Lauer.

Phil Griffin has also been in the news for reportedly being threatened by disgraced Game Change author Mark Halperin, who was said to be angry after Griffin thwarted his plans for a comeback on Morning Joe in the wake of multiple sexual harassment allegations.

While it comes as no surprise that all these men are connected, these connections will hopefully (but probably not likely) serve as an explainer for the people who continue to ask why so many victims waited until Me Too was well underway to report sexual misconduct and abuse. Reporting alleged abusers to their equally shitty friends almost certainly would not have resulted in punishment for anyone except the accuser.