Allegations of a nearly 30-year-old assault have heaped on to the predatory culture in corporate media as yet another executive has been accused of preying on an employee at NBC.
Thursday, 47-year-old Aarthi Rajaraman filed suit in the Supreme Court of the State of New York against former NBC producer Michael Bass and NBC/Universal with claims about misconduct while they worked together during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia.
Then a member of the “Today” show’s coverage, court documents obtained by The Daily Beast claim that Bass had tricked Rajaraman, then an intern and 20-year-old college sophomore at George Washington University, into coming back to his hotel suite where he was said to have sexually assaulted her.
According to the documents, the team had gathered for dinner and drinks and were heading home around 5 a.m. when the plaintiff was convinced to use the restroom in the defendant’s suite instead of a public facility. Believing Bass’ wife and newborn were staying with him, Rajaraman recounted being surprised to find herself alone with him.
“He began kissing and groping her without her consent and continued to do so even though she did not reciprocate the kissing or groping and instead was completely frozen in shock and fear,” the filing detailed.
“Defendant Bass continued to force himself on Plaintiff, putting his hands up her shirt and down her skirt,” the document continued. “Even though Plaintiff was not responsive, Defendant Bass continued to force himself on her. Plaintiff was frozen with shock and fear and did not know what to do. Plaintiff feared that she would be raped by her boss, who she had been duped into believing was an honorable and upstanding family man.”
The suit noted that Rajaraman managed to escape further assault by noting the hour and how soon they would have to return to work. However, her troubles were said to not end there as later that same day, she asserted Bass, who was described as “a close colleague of ‘Today Show’ host Matt Lauer” threatened her over the phone, “Don’t tell anyone.”
The filing further alleged that Bass “blackballed” Rajaraman, blocking her from job opportunities in New York City.
Speaking with the Beast, her attorney, Meagan Goddard said, “My client and I are grateful for the Adult Survivors Act, which has allowed my client to seek justice for her alleged sexual assault and ensuing retaliation–something that a 20-year-old college student at the very beginning of her career was far too scared to do.”
“She is standing up for herself and for all women who have endured abuse and retaliation in the workplace,” the lawyer added as the suit is seeking compensatory and punitive damages “commensurate with that life-altering trauma that she experienced in 1996.”
“More than 20 years passed until the #metoo movement and NBC’s ouster of Matt Lauer for similarly unchecked misconduct helped provide [Rajaraman] with the courage, understanding and resolve to, in 2020, contact a lawyer about Defendant Bass’s assault of her during the 1996 Summer Olympics,” the document outlines. “[Rajaraman] finally understood she had been a victim without a voice or recourse, not the one to blame. [Bass] had used his power and clout to proceed as if nothing happened, while [Rajaraman] was made to pay the emotional and career damages.”
He went on to be a senior executive producer for CBS News’ morning programs and executive vice president of programming at CNN where he was also interim co-head serving between Jeff Zucker and Chris Licht’s reigns.
Meanwhile, Rajaraman also worked for CBS, CNN and HBO since her ill-fated internship, and now teaches sports media and marketing at a business school. Along with her own allegations, the plaintiff asserted “Defendant Bass similarly abused and assaulted other women who reported to him at NBC and NBC allowed the unlawful behavior to go on.”
She also contended other “prominent on-air” personalities had been having affairs with employees and that “NBC senior male employees openly talked about their visits to strip clubs and their sex lives, to the discomfort” of her and her peers.
A spokesperson for NBC News told the Beast in an email, “We have been made aware of the complaint and are reviewing it.”
Bass himself had not responded to requests for comment.
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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