Ron Meyer's Alleged Affair With Charlotte Kirk Led To His NBCUniversal Exit

Ron Meyer, NBCUniversal Vice Chairman, was involved in an affair with actress Charlotte Kirk and it led to his departure from the company.

Meyer was forced out of his post after 25 years for failing to disclose that he reached a private settlement with Kirk, two sources told Variety. Meyer released a statement and admitted that he had an affair with an unnamed woman. He added that it was consensual and it happened "many years ago.” Although he didn't name the woman in his statement, sources with knowledge about his departure told Variety and Deadline that the woman was Kirk.

"I made a settlement, under threat, with a woman outside the company who had made false accusations against me," Meyer said in his statement as quoted by Deadline.

"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. After I disclosed this matter to the company, we mutually decided that I should step down from my role as Vice Chairman of NBCUniversal.”

Variety noted that Kirk also got involved with former Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara in 2013 and 2014. Their intimate text messages were disclosed and there were allegations that he used his position to get Kirk roles in films and shows. The controversy prompted Tsujihara to resign from the company in 2019.

However, Kirk's lawyer, Raymond Markovich, said he doesn't know Meyer.

“I’ve never done a settlement with Ron Meyer on anything,” Markovich added.

Meanwhile, NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell has also announced Meyer's departure in a company memo.

"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 value," Shell said as quoted by Deadline.

"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.”