NBCUniversal has launched an investigation into Ron Meyer’s behavior over his affair with actress Charlotte Kirk, to see if the now former Vice Chairman improperly used company money or resources with either the affair or its cover-up.
Meyer abruptly stepped down last week after he disclosed to NBCU CEO Jeff Shell his relationship with Kirk, ending his celebrated tenure in the industry in embarrassment. An NBCU spokesperson confirmed the company has hired an outside investigator.
Meyer had reached a financial settlement with Kirk for an undisclosed an amount, but an insider told TheWrap that a third party was trying to extort Meyer and force him to disclose the settlement to NBCUniversal. According to two individuals with knowledge of the situation, Neil Marshall, the director of 2019’s “Hellboy” who is currently dating Kirk, and Joshua Newton, a former boyfriend of Kirk’s whose credits include the 2009 Roy Scheider film “Iron Cross,” separately contacted Meyer in the past year demanding money and threatening to expose Meyer’s extramarital affair with Kirk from eight years ago. For his part, Marshall strongly denied the accusation.
Kirk is the same actress whose later affair with Kevin Tsujihara between 2013 and 2014 led to his own ouster as Warner Bros. CEO last year after word of the relationship and Tsujihara’s subsequent efforts to advance Kirk’s acting career surfaced in the press (Tsujihara has denied he helped her get acting roles).
Meyer’s departure ended a more than two-decade tenure with the company, most of which came as president and COO of Universal Studios, which he ran from 1995 until 2013. He had been vice chairman of NBCU for the last seven years. Meyer is also known as one of the founders of powerhouse talent agency CAA.
The Hollywood Reporter first reported on the investigation into Meyer.
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