Matt Lauer has been fired from NBC for “inappropriate sexual behavior”
On Wednesday, November 29th, long-time Today host Matt Lauer was fired from NBC News. The dismissal followed an employee’s complaint over Lauer’s “inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace.” Lauer’s former co-hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb broke the news on air this morning, stating that members of the Today staff “are devastated.”
According to CNN, NBC News chairman Andrew Lack sent a memo to Today staff early Wednesday morning, November 29th, breaking the news that a “detailed complaint” against Lauer had been issued the evening of Monday, November 27th.
Lack stated that although this was the first official complaint filed against Lauer during his 20-year career at NBC, the network "was also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident."
CNN reported that Lack and other NBC News executives were aware that several major news outlets were currently working on stories about Lauer’s alleged sexual misconduct. The New York Times and Variety are among the publications, and Variety’s New York Bureau Chief Ramin Setoodeh has since claimed via Twitter that there are “multiple victims.”
For the last two months, @EWagmeister and I have been reporting on a story about serious sexual harassment allegations against Lauer. There were multiple victims. https://t.co/jW2QEeDOqo
— Ramin Setoodeh (@RaminSetoodeh) November 29, 2017
Lauer has worked as a Today host since 1997 and is one of the most recognizable faces on network television. His dismissal comes after the November 21st firing of fellow network news anchor Charlie Rose. Rose was let go by CBS, PBS, and Bloomberg following allegations that he made unwanted sexual advances toward female staff members.
"It's hard to reconcile what we are hearing with the man who we know, who walks in this building every single day," Kotb stated this morning on Today. Guthrie added, "How do you reconcile your love for someone with the revelation that they have behaved badly, and I don't know the answer to that."
Guthrie continued, "I do know that this reckoning, that so many organizations have been going through, is important, it's long overdue and it must result in workplaces where all women — all people — feel safe and respected."
Lauer has yet to respond to his removal and the allegations against him.
