Star anchor Lauer axed over sex misconduct
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Star news anchor allegations of sexual misconduct, 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.
- air as their program began, calling it “a sad morning here at ‘Today’
receiving a detailed account from a colleague of what it called inappropriate sexual behavior on the job. But Hollywood trade weekly 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 behavior.
- conduct detailed by the magazine included an occasion when he gave an explicit note, and another in which he exposed himself in his
Three unidentified women had come forward, according to the report, - ment that had been corroborated by friends or colleagues.
- day, the reported.
of the matter, the paper said one accuser said she was sexually as 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. Matt Lauer - brought down in a groundswell of outrage that began in October with - rassment allegations against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
The scandal has reached Washington, where several lawmakers stand accused of inappropriate behavior, and nearly every day seems to bring another stunning case involving a
‘Clear violation’
- night, the network received a - er of inappropriate behavior.
“It represented, after serious review, a clear violation of our company’s standards. As a result, we’ve decided to terminate his employ
evidence suggesting this may not have been an isolated incident.
in 2012 during an interview with the pinches me on the ass a lot,” although she laughed after making the remark.
- cusers who said the executive had a button under his desk that allowed him to lock his door from the inside without getting up, ensuring no one could walk in on him.
According to multiple accounts the magazine said it had indepen his hotel room late at night while covering the Olympics.
however, says several women had found their complaints to network executives falling on deaf ears.
President Donald Trump, himself accused of harassment by more than a dozen women, seized on
“Wow,” he said on Twitter, adding for “putting out so much Fake News.”
Trump was embarrassed in the campaign by the release of audio in which he is heard boasting that his fame allowed him to grab women’s genitals and get away with it.
‘Courage to come forward’
At the time, he acknowledged the veracity of the so-called “Access Hollywood” tape and apologized publicly. But he has since suggested that the voice on the tape was not his, the reported.
America’s most respected TV journalists, after eight women told
he had made unwanted sexual advances toward them.
Rival television giant Fox News has long been rocked by allegations that its late former chairman Roger Ailes and ex-star presenter Bill O’Reilly, who cases of sexual harassment brought by female colleagues.
who has said she was sexually harassed at that network and now hosts of harassment victims.
Kelly acknowledged the possible sacking but added that “what we don’t see is the pain on the faces of those who found the courage to come forward, and it is a terrifying thing to do.”
National Public Radio, which already lost a senior executive earlier this month over sexual misconduct allegations, said its chief news editor, David Sweeney, had left the company after being accused of sexual harassment.
And on an ignominious day for the media, writer and long-time radio host Garrison Keillor also saw his ties over what it called inappropriate behavior with a co-worker.
The 75-year-old Keillor said in an email to the
that he had inadvertently “put my hand on a woman’s bare back” and later offered an apology that was accepted.