A former NBC college intern alleges that a media representative who most recently served as CNN’s top executive sexually assaulted her while covering the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Aarthi Rajaraman, now 47, alleges that in a three-week job as an NBC production assistant, Michael Bass – then the “Today” program coordinator assigned to cover the Olympic Games – lured her to a hotel room and assaulted her, based on a lawsuit filed on Thursday in Manhattan Supreme Court, which also names the network’s parent company, NBC/Universal Media.
Rajaraman claimed within the lawsuit that lots of NBC’s senior employees fooled around with younger employees.
In July 1996, Rajaraman, then a 20-year-old college sophomore, was returning home at 5 a.m. after having dinner and drinks with Bass and their band when she needed to make use of the toilet.
Rajaraman claims she was “cheated” by her boss to make use of the restroom in his hotel suite where his wife and newborn baby were staying, based on court documents.
But she soon realized she was alone along with her boss in a hotel room as Bass “began kissing and groping her without her consent” before “putting his hands under her shirt and skirt”, based on court documents.
Later that day, Bass, then referred to as a “superstar” and “up-and-coming” on NBC, called Rajamaran and threatened him, saying “Don’t tell anyone,” the lawsuit claims.
Bass was a senior executive producer of CBS News’ morning shows, and was CNN’s vp of programming until last yr, where he was also the network’s interim co-president after the ousting of former president Jeff Zucker.
In retaliation for Rajaraman rejecting his advances, her former boss “cheated” her by pulling strings to make sure she was turned down from multiple job offers in Latest York, based on the lawsuit.
Rajaraman has since then work with since her internship with multiple networks and outlets including CNN, HBO and CBS, based on a web-based biography.
The lawsuit was brought under the Adult Victims of Violence Act, passed by Latest York state legislatures in 2022, which supplies adult victims of sexual abuse a one-year period – ending in November – to bring civil actions that were previously not subject to a statute of limitations.
“Today we rejoice the Adult Survivors Act, which gave my client the chance to hunt justice for the alleged assault she suffered,” said Rajaraman’s attorney Meagan Goddard.
Rajaraman, who declined to comment through her lawyer, is looking for redress and compensation “commensurate with the trauma that modified her life in 1996.”
An NBC spokesperson said the corporate is investigating the criticism.
Bass didn’t reply to requests for comment.