Joan Lunden Says a Television Boss Propositioned Her Early in Her Career, Then Punished Her When She Turned Him Down
Joan Lunden Says a Television Boss Propositioned Her Early in Her Career, Then Punished Her When She Turned Him Down
Virginia ChamleeTue, March 3, 2026 at 1:00 PM UTC
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Jaon LundenCredit: John Lamparski/Getty; Joe McNally/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty -
Joan Lunden writes in a new memoir that one of her early bosses made a pass at her, then began to kill her stories after she rejected his advances
In the book, which debuts March 3, Lunden recounts her early days on New York's WABC-TV Eyewitness News, which she joined in 1975
During that time, a mentor and boss asked her to come to a work get-together — which wound up being an attempt at an overnight date
Joan Lunden is recounting how an early boss made a pass at her — then punished her at work when she turned him down.
In her new memoir, Joan: Life Beyond the Script, Lunden, 75, recounts her early days on New York's WABC-TV Eyewitness News, which she joined in 1975 and co-anchored the weekend newscasts.
At the time, she worked with a colleague she calls "Ted" in her book, explaining that he would help her edit stories during her early days at the network.
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One day, things took a turn, when he invited her to what he said was an Eyewitness News get-together on Fire Island.
"'You should come along, Joan,' said Ted. 'It will be a good opportunity for you to socialize with the rest of the team,'" she writes in the book. "Not having any close friendships in the newsroom, I was concerned that I would feel awkward and uncomfortable, like a tagalong. With some encouragement, I agreed to go. I’d never been to the famed Fire Island before. I’d heard that no cars were allowed on the island, so you had to take a ferry to get there."
But when she and "Ted" arrived to the Fire Island home where the gathering was to take place, there were only two others there: a local WCBS reporter and his girlfriend. She quickly realized what was billed as a work event was actually an attempt at an overnight double-date.
David Hartman and Joan Lunden, co-hosts for Good Morning America. ABC studios, New York, NY, 10/7/1980.Credit: Joe McNally / Getty
"I was embarrassed that I’d been so naive as to let this situation unfold, and I was offended as a woman that a guy—my superior at work—thought he could get away with this! He assumed that I would just go along with it," Lunden writes in her memoir. "I was also scared because it felt like there was no way out. It was evening and the sky was getting darker by the minute. You can’t just walk outside a home on Fire Island and hail a cab to take you back to your apartment."
She continues: “'Ted, you know this is not what I signed up for,' I said, trying to be strong but not too offensive, since he was my boss. I was praying he would say 'Oops, my bad, I’m sorry, let me take you back home.' Instead, he tried to be charming and make light of it. 'Look, maybe the original plan fell through, but we’re all here, so let’s just enjoy ourselves.'"
But "Ted" instead told Lunden to just "enjoy" the evening, later pressuring her to sleep in the bedroom with him. Instead, she spent an uncomfortable night on the sofa in the living room, leaving first thing the next morning.
When she returned to the office that Monday, "Ted's" attitude had shifted tremendously.
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"I was about to find out that hell hath no fury like a man scorned," Lunden writes. "Ted started killing my stories—meaning he kept my stories from making the show lineup for one reason or another ... I felt vulnerable and helpless. Not only that, but my reputation also took a hit because a) it had become known that I went to Fire Island with my immediate superior, and b) it was obvious to everyone that my stories weren’t making air."
Al Ubell, Joan Lunden appearing on ABC's 'Good Morning America'.Credit: Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
Ted's actions also meant Lunden made less money, as television reporters at the time were paid a base salary and an additional fee for each story that appeared on the air.
"If your stories didn’t get aired, you earned less money," she writes.
Ted pursued his grudge "for a couple of months," until Lunden took matters into her own hands, telling Ted to come in to her office for a meeting and telling him, “This has to stop. Now. I’m not putting up with it another day.”
“We both know you’re keeping my stories off the air for no valid reason,” Lunden told him. “I know it and you know it, and everyone else in the newsroom knows it. It’s pure revenge on your part, and it happens to be discriminatory, not to mention you’re affecting my income. I’ve spoken with my agent and my lawyer, and they’ve both advised me to file suit against you and WABC-TV for sexual harass- ment and sexual discrimination, and they say I’m going to win.”
That, Lunden writes, "got his attention."
From the book: "I could see by the look on his face that my punch had landed. I had him. Before he even had a chance to respond, I closed with, 'Against my lawyer’s advice, I’m going to give you one chance, today, to rectify this situation. It’s not because you deserve it; it’s only to avoid the legal process. But hear me: If I detect even a whiff that this is still happening, I promise you I will tell the lawyers to go ahead and file the suit they have prepared.'"
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The behavior then stopped, with Luden writing, "I felt vindicated," and adding, "I hope he’s reading this."
Lunden would go on to become a co-anchor of Good Morning America in 1979, working alongside David Hartman and Charlie Gibson until 1997.
Joan: Life Beyond the Script is out on March 3.
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