Former NBCUniversal Vice Chairman Ron Meyer Opens Up About His ‘Undignified’ Ouster

CAA co-founder and former NBCUniversal vice chairman Ron Meyer dove into his controversial exit from the Comcast entertainment company in a recent freewheeling and honest interview with podcast hosts Amy Motta, Gloria Butler, Sloan Kivo and former ICM agent Risa Shapiro.

Meyer conceded on their OnTheRags podcast that he used poor judgment when he opted not to inform NBCU that he had settled a lawsuit over a past consensual affair, leading to his ouster from the company in 2020.

“Universal decided to fire me because I did not tell them that I had settled a potential lawsuit that named them,” Meyer said. “I hope I’m saying this right, but that’s exactly what happened, and it wasn’t a ‘Me Too’ situation. It wasn’t anything other than that.”

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The former studio head said he was motivated to settle with the woman – later revealed to be Charlotte Kirk, the same actress former Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara had an extramarital relationship with prior to his exit from the studio – because he didn’t want to hurt his ex-wife or for his kids to learn of the affair. However, the situation spiraled as Meyer claims Kirk and her boyfriend asked for more money. “I was extorted, in my opinion,” he said on the podcast. The couple asked for “hundreds of millions of dollars,” according to Meyer, who added, “I obviously paid these guys, by the way.”

Meyer served as president and COO of Universal Studios from 1995-2013, when he was promoted to vice chairman. Despite his long tenure with the company, he does not hold any ill will over his ouster.

“Truth is, you know, when you work for someone…people do what they want. They just have to honor their contract. They don’t have to like the way I dress or the way I look, or the way I sound, the way I act. They can fire me at will. They have the right to do it, and so I don’t begrudge that,” he said. “I always knew that one day, the job would end. I didn’t like the way it ended. I thought it was undignified. I’d hoped that I would leave in a more memorable way – or less memorable way, I guess.”

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The longtime Hollywood insider also spared a few thoughts on Will Smith’s notorious Oscars slap against Chris Rock, which aired live on ABC earlier this year.

“It’s a real tough one,” Meyer said. “I’ve known Will for many, many years. I know Chris Rock for many years. I admire and like them both a lot. I mean, it was so out of character for Will, you know? From my perspective, it was a punk-ass thing to do. You know, if Mike Tyson was on stage, he wouldn’t have done it.”

Meyer heaped some blame on Smith, but forecasted a comeback for the star and argued that the infamous moment should not be a career-ender.

“He didn’t deserve a standing ovation,” Meyer said. “But I think that was a weird spontaneous act, and he deserves to be in the doghouse for a while. He didn’t deserve to get away with it. He didn’t do anything that should end his career. He’s not Harvey Weinstein. He’s not. He just did a punk-ass chicken s— thing.”

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