America’s top TV host is sacked after complaint of inappropriate sexual act
TV PRESENTER Matt Lauer has been fired from America’s biggest morning show after a colleague accused him of “inappropriate sexual behaviour”.
The veteran host of NBC’s ‘Today’ show was forced to quit after a colleague came forward with a “detailed complaint” on Monday, the network said.
The news came on the day another high-profile US broadcaster, Garrison Keillor, was fired for “improper behaviour”.
Lauer has been at the helm of the network’s morning news show since January 1997 and has interviewed the last four presidents during his time in the role.
He is thought to be one of the most highly paid TV presenters in the US with a reported $25m (€21m) annual salary.
His co-hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb broke the news at the start of yesterday morning’s show, revealing that they had been told about the allegations just minutes before going on air.
Guthrie said: “This is a sad morning here at ‘Today’ and NBC News.”
She went on to read out a letter sent to NBC staff from the network’s chairman Andrew Lack.
In the letter, Mr Lack said the organisation had reason to believe the allegations against the presenter may not have been an “isolated incident”.
A visibly tearful Guthrie told viewers: “We learned this moments ago, just this morning. As you can imagine, we are devastated. And we are still processing all of this.
“I will tell you, we do not know more than what I just shared with you, but we will be covering this story, as reporters, as journalists.”
Lauer is the second high-profile news presenter to be hit with allegations of inappropriate conduct. Last week, CBS news journalist Charlie Rose was accused of sexual assault.
Guthrie said she was “heartbroken” for her “dear friend”, adding: “And I’m heartbroken for the brave colleague that came forward to tell her story and any other women who have their own stories to tell.”
The comments echoed those made just last week by Rose’s co-hosts Gayle King and Norah O’Donnell as they covered the allegations against their suspended colleague.
Guthrie went on to say: “We are grappling with a dilemma that so many people have faced these weeks. But I know this reckoning that so many organisations 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 been married for almost 20 years and has three children with wife Annette, a former model from the Netherlands.
The couple came close to divorcing in 2006 after Mrs Lauer filed court papers stating that her husband valued his work over his family, as well as accusing him of “cruel and inhuman treatment” towards her.
Meanwhile, Keillor, the former host of folksy radio show ‘A Prairie Home Companion’, has been fired by Minnesota Public Radio over allegations of what the network called improper behaviour.
Keillor said he was fired over “a story that I think is more interesting and more complicated than the version MPR heard.” He explained he had put his hand on a woman’s bare back when trying to console her.
“I meant to pat her back after she told me about her unhappiness, and her shirt was open and my hand went up it about six inches. She recoiled. I apologised,” Keillor said.
“I sent her an email of apology later, and she replied that she had forgiven me and not to think about it. We were friends. We continued to be friendly right up until her lawyer called.”