Women’s Group UltraViolet Cheers Andy Lack’s Exit as NBC News Chairman

UltraViolet, a national women’s group, cheered the exit of longtime NBC News Chairman Andy Lack on Monday as a “positive development” that “suggests NBC is beginning to take issues regarding its workplace culture seriously.”

“After a career of enabling sexual abusers, preying on women in the workplace and silencing stories from survivors, Andy Lack’s name is synonymous with NBCUniversal’s toxic workplace culture. Lack should have been forced to step down after Ronan Farrow’s reporting exposed his role covering up sexual abuse at the network,” UltraViolet co-founder Shaunna Thomas said in a statement, citing previous accusations about Lack’s behavior as chairman of NBC News and MSNBC since 2015. (Lack has denied retaliating against the two women who spoke with Farrow about his behavior.)

“While no single decision or individual can eliminate the pervasiveness of sexual abuse and harassment in the workplace, these are positive developments,” she continued. “Still, NBC has a long way to go before it takes the steps necessary to address their toxic workplace culture, which has been cultivated by men like Andy Lack for decades.”