A former NBC college intern claims that a media honcho who most recently served as a top executive at CNN sexually assaulted her while they were covering the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, in accordance with a shocking recent lawsuit.
Aarthi Rajaraman, now 47, claims that in a three-week stint as a NBC production assistant, Michael Bass — then a “Today” show coordinating producer assigned to Olympics coverage — lured her to a hotel room and assaulted her, in accordance with a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court Thursday, which also names the network’s parent company, NBC/Universal Media.
Quite a few senior NBC employees had been playing around with younger staffers on the time, Rajaraman claimed within the suit.
In July 1996, Rajaraman, on the time a 20-year-old college sophomore, was heading home at 5 a.m. following dinner and drinks with Bass and their team when she needed to make use of the lavatory.
Rajaraman claims she was “tricked” by her boss to go use the bathroom in his hotel suite, where she believed his wife and newborn were staying, in accordance with court papers.
But she soon realized she was alone along with her boss within the hotel room as Bass “began kissing and groping her without her consent” before “putting his hands up her shirt and down her skirt,” in accordance with court documents.
Later that day, Bass, then often known as as a “superstar” and “up and comer” at NBC, called and threatened Rajamaran, saying “Don’t tell anyone,” the suit alleges.
Rajaraman brought her lawsuit against Michael Bass under Recent York’s Adult Survivors Act. NurPhoto via Getty Images
Bass would go on to roles as senior executive producer for CBS News’ morning shows, and until last yr, CNN’s executive vp of programming, where he also served as interim co-head of the network following the ouster of former president Jeff Zucker.
In retaliation for Rajaraman rejecting his advances, her former boss “blackballed” her, pulling strings to make sure she was rejected from multiple job opportunities in Recent York City, in accordance with the suit.
Rajaraman has since worked with a variety of networks and outlets since her internship, including CNN, HBO and CBS, in accordance with an internet biography.
The suit has been brought under the Adult Survivors Act, passed by Recent York state lawmakers in 2022, which supplies adult victims of sexual abuse a one-year period — ending in November — to file civil suits that previously were outside of the statute of limitations.
“Today, we have fun the Adult Survivors Act, which has given my client the chance to hunt justice for the alleged assault that she suffered,” said Rajaraman’s attorney, Meagan Goddard.
Rajaraman, who declined to comment through her attorney, is searching for compensatory and punitive damages “commensurate with that life-altering trauma that she experienced in 1996.”
An NBC spokesperson said the corporate is reviewing the criticism.
Bass didn’t reply to requests for comment.