According to The Hollywood Reporter, on Sunday, April 23, 2023, Comcast announced a surprising change in leadership at its entertainment subsidiary NBCUniversal, appointing longtime corporate executive Mike Cavanagh to replace current NBCU CEO Jeff Shell. Today, April 24, 2023, a lawyer representing an anchor from one of NBCUniversal’s news networks announced that Shell was fired from his position as the company’s CEO due to an alleged sexual harassment complaint filed against him by the anchor.

“Cavanagh is highly regarded and reputationally more deliberate in his decision-making than Shell, as evidenced by his installment as Comcast president last fall,” Benchmark analyst Matt Harrigan wrote in a report, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

According to New York Times, Suzanne McKie, the lawyer for the anchor Hadley Gamble, a senior international correspondent at CNBC, stated her client provided evidence in the form of messages to NBCUniversal investigators that documented instances of the alleged harassment by Shell. An anonymous source with knowledge of the investigation confirmed the details and added that Shell was terminated for cause on Sunday, meaning he will not receive severance pay. In a securities filing on Monday, Comcast, which owns NBCUniversal, stated that it had found evidence that supported the sexual harassment allegations.

Shell’s representative did not address the allegations of sexual harassment. However, in a statement issued on Sunday, April 23, 2023, Shell admitted to having an alleged inappropriate relationship with a female colleague within the company, which he expressed deep regret over, according to New York Times.

According to the Wall Street Journal, McKie expressed disappointment that her client’s privacy had been violated and her name was made public after media outlets began reporting it on Sunday night.