Matt Lauer apparently had a button under his desk that locked his office door

Yesterday, November 29th, news broke that NBC anchor and well-known TV personality Matt Lauer was dismissed from NBC over allegations of “inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace.” And now, reports have surfaced that Lauer kept a button under his desk to discreetly lock his office door when female colleagues were in the room.

The disturbing claim was released in a a Variety investigative report which listed a number of anonymously-sourced allegations against the anchor.  The report stated that,

"His office was in a secluded space, and he had a button under his desk that allowed him to lock his door from the inside without getting up. This afforded him the assurance of privacy. It allowed him to welcome female employees and initiate inappropriate contact while knowing nobody could walk in on him, according to two women who were sexually harassed by Lauer."

A former producer who knew of Lauer’s behavior first- hand noted, “There were a lot of consensual relationships, but that’s still a problem because of the power he held. He couldn’t sleep around town with celebrities or on the road with random people, because he’s Matt Lauer and he’s married. So he’d have to do it within his stable, where he exerted power, and he knew people wouldn’t ever complain.”

The Variety report also stated that Lauer was known to give a female NBC staffer a sex toy as a gift with a note about “how he wanted to use it on her,” as well as exposed himself to another employee without her consent.

Needless to say, these accounts are horrifying and disheartening. We’re glad that NBC took swift action against Lauer, and we stand with every woman who was victimized by his predatory behavior.