A popular CNN columnist returned to the air Thursday after an eight-month suspension for masturbating on Zoom in front of colleagues from the prestigious magazine The New Yorker for which he collaborated.

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Jeffrey Tobin, 61, bragged during a break during a video conference thinking “we couldn’t” see him, he explained Thursday, and apologized for his “too ridiculous and indefensible” gesture.

A lawyer and columnist, author of several political books and a regular consultant at CNN, he was fired by the New Yorker in October 2020 and disappeared from the news channel’s screens.

Jeffrey Tobin said he “tried to be a better person” during his “bad months” off the air.

In particular, he received “treatment” and volunteered at a food bank.

He was fired by the magazine in November, but CNN simply fired him so he could deal with his “personal problems”.

A spokesperson for the channel said on CNN’s website that Jeffrey Tobin is expected to resume his role as regular counsel soon.

This incident was one of many risks encountered during video conferencing that have become the norm since the start of the pandemic.

At the end of May, a Canadian lawmaker was photographed urinating into a cup during a virtual parliamentary session, a month after he appeared naked during another session.

In September 2020, a member of the Argentine parliament was arrested after he was caught kissing his partner’s breast while participating in a virtual session.