Tom Brokaw vigorously denied an allegation of sexual harassment made by former NBC reporter Linda Vester, calling her an “angry” ex-colleague with a grudge against NBC News who is out to destroy his family and career.
Ms. Vester, in interviews with the Washington Post and Variety, said that in 1994 Mr. Brokaw, then the anchor of NBC’s “Nightly News,” came to her hotel room uninvited, suggested they have an affair and made unwanted advances, including an attempt to force her to kiss him. At the time, Ms. Vester was 28 years old, about 30 years younger than Mr. Brokaw.
In an email to friends and colleagues on Friday, Mr. Brokaw, who anchored “Nightly News” for more than two decades and now is a special correspondent with the network, confirmed he went to her hotel. “I should not have gone but I emphatically did not verbally and physically attack her and suggest an affair,” the email said. The email was first reported on by the Hollywood Reporter and the Los Angeles Times.
Mr. Brokaw wasn’t immediately available for comment.
In a memo to staff Friday, NBC News Chairman Andy Lack said Mr. Brokaw “emphatically denies” the allegation, adding: “As we’ve shown, we take allegations such as these very seriously, and act on them quickly and decisively when the facts dictate.”
The allegation against Mr. Brokaw comes as NBC News, a division of Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal, is still reeling from the exit of Matt Lauer, who was fired in November as lead anchor of its morning show “Today” after a network staffer accused him of inappropriate sexual behavior. Mr. Lauer has apologized for his behavior but also denied he ever behaved in an aggressive or abusive fashion toward any women.
Ms. Vester, in a video interview on Variety’s website, said Mr. Brokaw “grabbed me behind my neck and tried to force me to kiss him. I was shocked to feel the amount of force and his full strength on me.”
She said after the alleged 1994 incident, which she said took place at the Essex Hotel in New York City, Mr. Brokaw behaved in a similar fashion in 1995, when he came to her apartment in London, where she was stationed.
Besides denying the accusations in his letter, Mr. Brokaw called Ms. Vester a “former colleague who left NBC News angry that she had failed in her pursuit of stardom.” He also said it was he who helped her land a job at Fox News by placing a call to Roger Ailes, the late chief executive of the network.
Ms. Vester’s attorney, Ari Wilkenfeld, said, “My client stands by the allegations, which speak for themselves.”
“My client has watched as a number of brave women have come forward to report extreme forms of sexual harassment at NBC,” Mr. Wilkenfeld said in an email. “She felt it her duty to add her own story, not only to lend support to the other women who have already complained, but to demonstrate that this problem is not a new one, and that NBC needs to prioritize actually listening to and protecting their employees who have been victimized.”
NBC News said late last year that it was launching a probe into Mr. Lauer’s behavior during his long tenure at the network.
In his memo Friday, Mr. Lack said the review—led by NBC General Counsel Kim Harris, whom he said “has extensive experience in conducting reviews of this kind”—is nearing its conclusion, with findings to be shared as soon as next week.
Ms. Vester told the Washington Post and Variety that she was compelled to come forward all these years later because NBC hasn’t hired outside counsel to investigate sexual misconduct in the news division—which in her view meant it wasn’t taking it seriously enough.
In addition to Ms. Vester’s account, the Washington Post cited another accusation of inappropriate behavior by Mr. Brokaw with an unnamed NBC News staffer. Mr. Brokaw told the Post that no such incident happened.
A group of more than 60 women who say they are current and former colleagues of Mr. Brokaw, including some prominent network personalities such as Rachel Maddow, Andrea Mitchell, Maria Shriver and Stephanie Ruhle, penned a letter on Friday in support of the news anchor. “Tom has treated each of us with fairness and respect,” they wrote. “We know him to be a man of tremendous decency and integrity.”
Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com