NBC fires Today show host Matt Lauer over misconduct
STAR news anchor Matt Lauer has been sacked over allegations of sexual misconduct, US broadcaster NBC said on Wednesday, in the latest fall from grace of a power player in the media and entertainment industry.
The 59-year-old, known to millions as host of morning show Today for more than 20 years, led coverage of numerous major news events, from the September 11 attacks to presidential campaigns and the Olympics.
Co-host Savannah Guthrie announced Lauer’s termination on air as their program began, calling it “a sad morning here at Today and at NBC News”.
The network said it fired Lauer after receiving a detailed account from a colleague of what it called inappropriate sexual behaviour on the job.
But Hollywood trade weekly Variety published an investigation resulting from dozens of interviews with current and former colleagues over two months, suggesting it was part of a much larger pattern of behaviour.
Instances of Lauer’s alleged misconduct detailed by the magazine included an occasion when he gave a mortified colleague a sex toy with an explicit note, and another in which he exposed himself in his office to another staffer.
Three unidentified women had come forward, according to the report, with stories of Lauer’s sexual harassment that had been corroborated by friends or colleagues.
NBC received at least two more complaints against Lauer on Wednesday, the New York Times reported.
Citing a person with knowledge of the matter, the paper said one accuser said she was sexually assaulted by Lauer in his office in 2001. She passed out during the attack and had to be taken to a nurse, but did not report the incident because she felt ashamed and didn’t want to lose her job. Today Today
Lauer joins the ranks of numerous other film, TV and media giants brought down in a groundswell of outrage that began in October with a flood of sexual assault and harassment allegations against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
The scandal has reached Washington, where several lawmakers stand accused of inappropriate behaviour, and nearly every day seems to bring another stunning case involving a wellknown public figure.