Hadley Gamble’s sex-harass complaint alleged former CNBC exec called her the ‘C-word’
CNBC reporter Hadley Gamble alleged her boss at the cable news network called her the “C-word” — another surprise allegation that was part of the sexual harassment complaint that led to NBCUniversal boss Jeff Shell’s shocking exit, sources told The Post.
The complaint named Patrick Allen, a former CNBC vice president and international managing editor, as the executive who directed the “C-word” slur at Gamble — and said the exchange was witnessed by two ex-staffers at the network’s international division, the sources said.
Allen exited his role at CNBC earlier this year.
The complaint also accused another executive, John Casey, the London-based president and managing director of CNBC International, of overseeing a toxic work culture within the unit.
Less than a page of Gamble’s complaint, which is more than a dozen pages, focuses on allegations of sexual harassment by Shell, The New York Times reported late Tuesday.
The bulk of the complaint, filed in late March, raised accusations of bullying and discrimination at CNBC, saying women at the network’s international division were harassed by their male colleagues on several different occasions, according to the complaint reviewed by The Times.
Gamble lodged the complaint after she learned her expiring contract would not be renewed, sources told The Post.
The contract expires this year.
In response to the complaint, NBCUniversal parent Comcast launched an internal investigation that culminated in Shell’s dismissal.
Shell, 57, was fired for cause following Gamble’s complaint over an “inappropriate relationship” he had with the 41-year-old anchor 11 years ago.
The complaint’s additional details, first reported by Axios, shed new light on the relationship between Shell and Gamble.
It alleges Shell pressured her for sex over a period of years. Shell invited Gamble to dinner in London when she was a producer and he was the head of NBC International, according to the media outlet, which did not say in what year this occurred.
After the dinner, Shell accompanied Gamble back to her hotel and he pressured her to start a sexual relationship but was rejected, the complaint said.
Gamble didn’t work for the division Shell oversaw when they met, a source told The Times. Eventually, Gamble did engage in a sexual relationship with Shell “after it became clear to her that rebutting his advances would probably damage her career,” according to the complaint.
The complaint alleged that Shell continued to use his powerful position to pressure Gamble into sex while pursuing her in London, New York and Dubai.
A source told The Post last week that the CEO continued to send her texts. The journalist turned over those messages to the company as part of its probe.
Comcast said in an April 23 statement that it had “mutually agreed that Mr. Shell will depart effective immediately following the Company’s investigation led by outside counsel into a complaint of inappropriate conduct.”
The company’s statement made no mention of allegations against Allen, Casey or any executive other than Shell.
“This was a mutual and consensual relationship,” a representative for Shell told The Post. “The complaint wildly misrepresents the facts of what happened”
Gamble’s lawyer Suann MacIsaac said Shell “targeted” her client months before they met in person and continued his pursuit after his promotion to chief executive.
“We expect more attempts at revisionist history from a man who was just fired for cause following a decade-long campaign of sexual harassment, which began when he was CEO of NBC Universal International,” MacIsaac told The Times.
A representative for Gamble declined to comment when contacted by The Post.
Representatives for NBCUniversal and its parent company, Comcast, did not immediately return a request for comment.
The Times also reported that NBCU’s investigation into Gamble found that she had made “inappropriate comments about some colleagues in the past, and that she had not always strictly complied with CNBC’s travel and expense policy.”
The abrupt exit proved costly for Shell, who forfeited vested and unvested stock options with an “estimated fair value of $43.3 million as of the termination date,” according to a company filing last week.
The company said Shell “did not receive any supplemental payments or benefits in connection with his termination.”
The latest revelations about Gamble’s complaint followed The Post’s report last week that the CNBC International correspondent had faced an internal probe over her relationship with another powerful figure — billionaire Trump donor Tom Barrack.
Gamble’s dalliance with Barrack was exposed after the 76-year-old bachelor was caught on video loafing around in the background of a CNBC camera shot as she prepared to tape her show, “Capital Connection.”
Gamble has also been romantically linked to David Bonderman, the 80-year-old billionaire chairman of private equity firm TPG.
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