NBC Fires Matt Lauer for "Inappropriate Sexual Behavior"
by Liam Mathews
Nov 29, 2017


NBC News has fired longtime "Today" co-anchor Matt Lauer due to an allegation of sexual misconduct from a colleague.

Lauer had been an anchor on "Today" since 1997 and is one of the series' best known on-air personalities. The filer and details of the complaint against Lauer have not been made public.





"On Monday night, we received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace by Matt Lauer," NBC News Chairman Andy Lack announced in a statement Wednesday morning, which Savannah Guthrie read on-air.

"It represented, after serious review, a clear violation of our company's standards. As a result, we've have decided to terminate his employment.
While it is the first complaint about his behavior in the over twenty years he's been at NBC News, we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident.

Our highest priority is to create a workplace environment where everyone feels safe and protected, and to ensure that any actions that run counter to our core values are met with consequences, no matter who the offender. We are deeply saddened by this turn of events but we will face it together as a news organization — and do it in as transparent a manner as we can."





During Wednesday's show, which began shortly after the "Today" team learned of Lauer's firing, Guthrie was joined by Hoda Kotb, who was filing in for Lauer on the 7 a.m. hour. After Lack's statement was read, both anchors echoed what Gayle King said about former "CBS This Morning" co-host Charlie Rose

"This is a very tough morning for both of us. I've known Matt for 15 years as a friend and as a colleague," Kotb said.

"It's hard to reconcile what we are hearing with the man who we know who walks in this building every day. We're processing it with all of you at home, and we promise to be transparent and be straight-forward and continue this important conversation," Guthrie added.

http://www.tvguide.com/news/matt-lauer-fired-inappropriate-sexual-behavior/

Pretty soon there will be no men employed in the entertainment industry...

Remember, all of the men being accused of this are just nothing but liberals.

Remember, all of the men being accused of this are just nothing but liberals.

What does that have to do w/ anything? Conservatives don't have any sexual controversies?

Bill O'Reilly
Roger Ailes
Herman Cain
Roy Moore
George H.W. Bush
...to name a few

If I was a famous person, it would be the other way arround!!!! The young good looking men would be accusing ME of sexual harrasment!!! :crazy: :lol: :D

Just kidding!!;) :D :wave:

Looking forward to seeing the shell shocked NBC crew on the Rockefeller Center tree lighting ceremony tonight.

Pretty soon there will be no men employed in the entertainment industry...


Well, the news industry anyway. That's one of the reasons I have cut down my watching tremendously. I'm sick of fashion model bimbos reading the news to me pretending they know what they're talking about.

Looking forward to seeing the shell shocked NBC crew on the Rockefeller Center tree lighting ceremony tonight.

I forgot it was tonight.

Pretty soon there will be no men employed in the entertainment industry... sexual harassment occurs in the workplace in almost every industry and sector - you just hear about it more in the entertainment industry because it is in the public eye and the companies involved are now being forced to deal with the abusers because it is getting so much attention currently and they don't want it to reflect poorly on them.

hopefully all the attention will prompt more victims to come forward, more people to listen to them, and make abusers think twice before disrespecting anyone again.

Matt Lauer’s alleged sexual harassment includes exposing himself in his locked office and urging a female staffer to perform a sex act on him (http://variety.com/2017/biz/news/matt-lauer-accused-sexual-harassment-multiple-women-1202625959/)

Variety has published the results of its two-month investigation on Lauer (http://www.nickiswift.com/9424/reasons-matt-lauer-isnt-nice-seems/) in the wake of his firing, quoting three alleged victims — none of whom include the accuser whose complaint to NBC News on Monday night resulted in his ouster. Variety's Ramin Setoodeh and Elizabeth Wagmeister report that Lauer’s 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,” which he used when inviting female staffers to engage them in inappropriate contact. One employee, Variety writes, alleges that she was invited to Lauer’s office, where he “dropped his pants, showing her his penis. After the employee declined to do anything, visibly shaken, he reprimanded her for not engaging in a sexual act.” Another colleague says Lauer gave her a sex toy with a note about how he wanted to use it on her. Lauer would also allegedly play “F, Marry, Kill” with female staffers and quiz them on their sexual experiences. Variety also reports that “Lauer would invite women employed by NBC late at night to his hotel room while covering the Olympics in various cities over the year.” NBC News chairman Andy Lack said in his statement this morning that the complaint about Lauer on Monday was "the first complaint about his behavior in the over twenty years he's been at NBC News," Variety reports that "several women told Variety they complained to executives at the network about Lauer’s behavior, which fell on deaf ears given the lucrative advertising surrounding Today." NBC declined comment on Variety's report.

ALSO:

UPDATE: NBC received two more complaints against Lauer after his firing, including from a woman who alleged he summoned her to his office for sex in 2001 (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/29/business/media/nbc-matt-lauer.html)
Lauer’s face has been scrubbed from Today’s website, Twitter, Facebook (http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/today-show-removes-matt-lauers-photos-social-channels-sexual-harassment-1202625948/)
Lauer’s alma mater Ohio University has no plans to drop his Today internship program (http://www.tmz.com/2017/11/29/matt-lauer-alma-mater-keeping-today-show-internship/)

Matt Lauer amassed a lot of power on Today — perhaps too much power (http://time.com/5040649/matt-lauer-ann-curry-past/)

NBC's Today (http://forums.previously.tv/topic/4855-all-episodes-talk-orange-is-the-new-yuck/?page=26), says Daniel D’Addario, “wasn’t quite The Matt Lauer (http://forums.previously.tv/topic/3557-matt-lauer-hair-today-gone-tomorrow/?do=getLastComment) Show, but that may have, at times, just been semantic: Lauer got many of the big interviews and his particular wry yet knife-twisting style of interviewing defined the show’s voice.” Now in wake of his firing over an allegation of sexual harassment, his past comes back for re-evaluation, especially the circumstances surrounding Ann Curry’s exit. “Lauer will eventually be replaced—notably, his substitute on the first morning after his firing was Hoda Kotb,” says D’Addario. “But it’s hard to imagine whomever comes in after him amassing quite as much fame or as much seeming ability to question along whatever lines he sees fit—lines that are, now, well worth re-examining critically and carefully. Lauer was on his way to becoming a TV legend; instead, now, he’s just another name on a long list.”

ALSO:

Ann Curry declined to comment on Lauer’s firing, saying: “I’m still really processing it” (http://people.com/tv/ann-curry-is-still-processing-matt-lauer-firing-news-we-need-to-make-our-workplaces-safe/)
Keith Olbermann: “Matt Lauer was remorsely vindictive and tyrannical to everyone at NBC News and management repeatedly enabled him and buried the issue" (https://www.thewrap.com/keith-olbermann-matt-lauer-nbc-enabled-vindictive/)
The Ghost of Matt Lauer: His absence this morning show into a mourning show (https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/11/matt-lauer-and-the-today-shows-living-funeral/547001/)
Lauer's firing is what a true reckoning looks like (http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/tv/z-on-tv-blog/bs-fe-zontv-lauer-fired-nbc-20171129-story.html)
The Daily Show revived a 2012 Today show comedy bit in which Lauer said he was the “real victim” of sexual harassment (https://twitter.com/TheDailyShow/status/935909460031152129)
NBC News fired Matt Lauer’s Today booker just two weeks ago for alleged sexual harassment (http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/nbc-news-booker-sexual-harassment-fired-severance-1202617053/)
To recap: NBC News shut down Ronan Farrow’s Harvey Weinstein story, which helped pave the way for Matt Lauer's firing (https://twitter.com/jelani9/status/935854240123191296)
Recalling Lauer’s 2012 “totally gross” “sexist ambush” interview with Anne Hathaway (http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2017/11/29/matt_lauer_was_creepy_in_a_2012_interview_with_anne_hathaway.html)
A history of Lauer behaving badly: From Ann Curry to Anne Hathaway to Corey Feldman (https://www.thecut.com/2017/11/matt-lauer-today-host-sexual-harassment-list.html)
Corey Feldman tweets “THIS MIGHT EXPLAIN THE HOSTILE INTERVIEW…” (https://twitter.com/Corey_Feldman/status/935860557739057152)
Lauer was supposed to participate in tonight’s Christmas in Rockefeller Center tree-lighting ceremony, but his vacancy won’t be filled (https://pagesix.com/2017/11/29/how-matt-lauers-firing-could-affect-tree-lighting/)
Lauer already pre-taped much of Christmas in Rockefeller Center, and now he has to be edited out (https://pagesix.com/2017/11/29/how-matt-lauers-firing-could-affect-tree-lighting/)
More Lauer controversies: In 2014, he was criticized for asking GM’s first female CEO a sexist question (https://decider.com/2017/11/29/matt-lauer-firing-a-history-of-his-biggest-scandals-and-grossest-controversies/)
Lauer’s interview with Bill O’Reilly on sexual harassment now takes on a different meaning (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/matt-lauer-o-reilly-interview-carries-new-meaning-firing-article-1.3665097)
Today hosts were visibly shaken off-camera (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5129203/Today-hosts-choked-discussing-Matt-Lauer.html)
Today staffers tell what coming to work was like this morning: Savannah Guthrie arrived with her eyes puffy (http://people.com/tv/today-staffer-shares-moment-they-learned-matt-lauer-was-fired/)
Natalie Morales, who vehemently denied rumors of an affair with Lauer, was “just in shock” this morning (http://people.com/tv/former-today-anchor-natalie-morales-is-in-shock-about-matt-lauer-blasts-past-rumors/)
Revisiting the Matt Lauer-Ann Curry Today drama (http://www.vulture.com/2017/11/matt-lauer-fired-today-show-ann-curry-drama.html)

A4iiq2B4cPQ

Report: Matt Lauer was brought down by lewd texts to an NBC intern that included an incriminating photo (https://pagesix.com/2017/11/29/matt-lauer-accused-of-sexting-nbc-intern-and-staffers/)

An NBC News employee who worked as an intern at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics had texts that presented “incontrovertible proof of inappropriate sexual behavior on his part,” sources tell the New York Post's Page Six. The texts were the reason why NBC News was able to move quickly to fire Lauer. A source also says that the employee had hired a “high-power attorney” who would’ve gone public, possibly to another network, if no action was taken. “There’s at least one picture (sent to her by Matt) which was a major part of the evidence, which is why the firing came so quickly … my understanding was it was so damning that it was unquestionable whether or not he should be fired,” a source tells Page Six. “I think everyone was a bit surprised how quickly this all turned around. No one expected his termination to happen that quickly. I believe the silver bullet was the photo and that was so damning that they had no other option but to fire him.” ALSO: Watch video Lauer creepily telling Meredith Vieira to “keep bending over like that. It's a nice view." (http://www.tmz.com/2017/11/29/matt-lauer-katie-couric-keep-bending-over-nice-view/)

There was no mention of Matt Lauer on NBC's Christmas in Rockefeller Center (http://tvline.com/2017/11/29/christmas-in-rockefeller-center-matt-lauer-fired-nbc/)
Today’s Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker and Hoda Kotb hosted tonight's live special, while NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt stepped in halfway through for what he said was his first appearance on the annual event.

After Geraldo Rivera defends Matt Lauer, video of Bette Midler detailing his alleged sexual misconduct resurfaces (https://jezebel.com/heres-bette-midler-in-1991-talking-about-geraldo-rivera-1820856435)
Rivera tweeted this afternoon he was “sad” about the firing of “great guy” Lauer, adding that “News is a flirty business & it seems like current epidemic of #SexHarassmentAllegations may be criminalizing courtship & conflating it w predation.” His tweets about sexual harassment prompted the resurfacing of an interview Barbara Walters conducted in which Bette Midler recalled how Rivera and his producer once “pushed me into my bathroom, they pushed two poppers under my nose, and proceeded to grope me...I did not offer myself up on the altar of Geraldo Rivera. He was unseemly.” ALSO: Rivera’s defense of Lauer is keeping with his own history of making no apologies for his own sexual misdeeds. (https://newrepublic.com/minutes/146052/course-geraldo-rivera-defending-matt-lauer)

Remember, all of the men being accused of this are just nothing but liberals.
No. No it’s not. It’s a person thing, overwhelmingly men who are the ones doing the assaulting. You’d do well to read RobyRob’s replies in this thread. We’re just NOW hearing about all these men harassing/assaulting women because society as a whole has been conditioned to sweep it under the rug as “boys will be boys/men will be men.” No. We, as a whole, have finally had enough of doing that and are blowing the whistle. Time to put an end to that and rape culture. NO means NO.

http://www.crazydaysandnights.net

Blind Items Revealed #5 (http://www.crazydaysandnights.net/2017/11/blind-items-revealed-5_29.html)

November 6, 2013
Most affairs just end marriages. Some like Meg Ryan's end careers. This affair has the potential to end two careers and one of them is not even involved in the affair but the two work so closely together that no one would be able to figure out which one they were not trying to hire. Apparently the affair is red hot.

Matt Lauer (https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/11/29/16714688/matt-lauer-today-show-ann-curry)/Natalie Morales/Savannah Guthrie

April 1, 2014 (http://www.crazydaysandnights.net/2014/04/blind-item-1.html)
This television talk show host likes to show the world that he has the perfect marriage and life but he rarely sleeps at home at night any longer and has quietly been hooking up with a woman who used to be an employee on the show and now seems to do nothing but wait for our talk show host to visit.

Matt Lauer

Blind Items Revealed #2 - Revisited (http://www.crazydaysandnights.net/2017/11/blind-items-revealed-2-revisited.html)
This Matt Lauer blind was written in May 2014 and revealed in December 2014. (http://www.crazydaysandnights.net/2014/12/blind-items-revealed-2_5.html)

May 4, 2014 (http://www.crazydaysandnights.net/2014/05/blind-item-1_4.html)
This married A list talk show host was at the White House Correspondent's Dinner last night but he spent the entire day in a hotel room with his mistress. He made his wife stay back home.

Matt Lauer

Blind Items Revealed #1 - Revisited (http://www.crazydaysandnights.net/2017/11/blind-items-revealed-1-revisited.html)
This blind was written on October 31st and revealed a week later (http://www.crazydaysandnights.net/2017/11/blind-items-revealed-3_7.html). Matt Lauer probably has seen it coming since then.

October 31, 2017 (http://www.crazydaysandnights.net/2017/10/blind-item-6_31.html)
The A list television personality might want to watch his step. Since he's an established bully among other things, trying to badger others on TV might not be the best choice right now. There is one person in particular who is waiting for an opening reveal all about him which will open the floodgates for others. Get that popcorn ready.

Matt Lauer

No. No it’s not. It’s a person thing, overwhelmingly men who are the ones doing the assaulting. You’d do well to read RobyRob’s replies in this thread. We’re just NOW hearing about all these men harassing/assaulting women because society as a whole has been conditioned to sweep it under the rug as “boys will be boys/men will be men.” No. We, as a whole, have finally had enough of doing that and are blowing the whistle. Time to put an end to that and rape culture. NO means NO.

Sorry. I wish I never said anything in the first place.

Watch Meredith Vieira question Matt Lauer about his “huge bag of sex toys in your office closet” (http://ew.com/tv/2017/11/30/matt-lauer-huge-bag-of-sex-toys/)
Vieira put her former Today co-host on the spot during an appearance on The Meredith Vieira Show in 2015. Lauer explained that the sex toys belonged to a sex therapist whom he had interviewed. “True story,” said Lauer. “I didn’t know what to do. I put it in the closet of my dressing room. The next day, we had Bush on the show, the Secret Service came with the dogs to sweep our dressing room … they open up the thing and they’re opening up the bag, I’m like ‘oh my God!'” On Wednesday, Variety reported that Lauer would use sex toys in his alleged sexual harassment of female Today staffers.

ALSO:

Paparazzi captured Katie Couric smiling today — she last tweeted five hours before Lauer’s firing was announced (https://pagesix.com/2017/11/30/matt-lauers-lawyers-trying-to-get-him-30m-payout-after-firing/)
Report: Lauer’s Today co-hosts were feigning surprise yesterday at his firing (https://pagesix.com/2017/11/30/matt-lauers-behavior-not-a-shock-to-today-co-hosts-and-crew/)
Lauer’s lawyers are reportedly seeking a “$30 million golden sexual parachute” following his firing (https://pagesix.com/2017/11/30/matt-lauers-lawyers-trying-to-get-him-30m-payout-after-firing/)

Matt Lauer’s apology wasn’t much of an apology (https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/11/30/16719492/matt-lauer-public-apology)
The fired Today host may have said he was “truly sorry,” but his entire statement is “the latest iteration in the popular new genre of powerful men acknowledging their misdeeds while attempting to avoid admitting to serious wrongdoing,” says Constance Grady. She points out that the bulk of his statement is devoted to his regret at being caught. “For an ‘apology,’ it’s less ‘I am sorry that I did something terrible’ and more, ‘I am embarrassed that I was caught,’” she says. Eric Deggans adds that there has become “a sad ritual to these sexual harassment/assault media scandals; subject denies every allegation is true, yet still apologizes without admitting serious guilt; those still employed express sorrow, praise those who came forward.”

ALSO:

With its latest statement, NBC News is pleading ignorance on Lauer while allowing that some women might have complained to someone (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/11/30/nbc-pleads-ignorance-on-matt-lauer-with-a-couple-big-caveats/)
NBC News reports there may be as many as eight accusers
CNN president Jeff Zucker, former Today executive producer and NBC boss, said today of Matt Lauer (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/30/business/media/jeff-zucker-matt-lauer.html): “No one ever brought to me, or to my knowledge, there was never, there was never a complaint about Matt. There was never a suggestion of that kind of deviant, predatory behavior. Not even a whisper of it, nothing like that.”
Why Lauer is unlikely to ever be prosecuted for his alleged sexual assault of an NBC staffer in 2001 (https://lawandcrime.com/legal-analysis/why-matt-lauers-alleged-rape-cant-be-prosecuted/)
Female Today staffers who didn’t flirt with Lauer were not considered good colleagues, People reports (http://people.com/tv/matt-lauer-ignored-female-staffers-source/)
Today fans still showed up at Rockefeller Center in force the day after Lauer’s ouster (http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/matt-lauer-today-show-1202626831/)
GMA aired some of Lauer’s troubling clips (https://twitter.com/THR/status/936229024183013380) this morning, while on CBS Gayle King said her thoughts are with Lauer’s wife and kids (https://twitter.com/THR/status/936244701983801344)
Paparazzi caught Lauer wearing sunglasses yesterday outside his Hamptons home (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5132463/Embarrassed-ashamed-Matt-Lauer-apologises.html)

Females make up two of the top three highest-paid anchors following Matt Lauer's firing (http://ew.com/tv/2017/11/30/highest-paid-tv-anchors-matt-lauer)
ABC’s Robin Roberts and NBC’s Megyn Kelly join Fox News’ Sean Hannity as the highest-paid anchors.

Matt Lauer apologizes: “There is enough truth in these stories to make me feel embarrassed and ashamed” (http://money.cnn.com/2017/11/30/media/matt-lauer-apology/index.html)

"There are no words to express my sorrow and regret for the pain I have caused others by words and actions," Lauer said in a statement that Savannah Guthrie read on air (https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status/936204701405798401) at the top of this morning's Today show. "To the people I have hurt, I am truly sorry. As I am writing this I realize the depth of the damage and disappointment I have left behind at home and at NBC. Some of what is being said about me is untrue or mischaracterized, but there is enough truth in these stories to make me feel embarrassed and ashamed. I regret that my shame is now shared by the people I cherish dearly. Repairing the damage will take a lot of time and soul searching and I'm committed to beginning that effort," Lauer said. "It is now my full time job. The last two days have forced me to take a very hard look at my own troubling flaws. It's been humbling. I am blessed to be surrounded by the people I love. I thank them for their patience and grace." ALSO: One TV critic tweets that Lauer's statement "rings so false." (https://twitter.com/poniewozik/status/936205879954804736) Another TV critic adds that "these statements are all beginning to sound even more alike than the accusations. Is one crisis manager writing all of them?" (https://twitter.com/elgray/status/936207813914873857)

Matt Lauer’s sexual harassment problem was hiding in plain sight at NBC News (https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/11/inside-the-fall-of-todays-matt-lauer)

Vanity Fair’s Sarah Ellison reports that Lauer’s sexual harassment problem “was hiding in plain sight” in the aftermath of the Harvey Weinstein story, which NBC News passed on -- one high-level source even says "everybody knew." For weeks, Ellison writes, NBC News executives “had been hearing rumors of stories being reported at Variety and The New York Times about Lauer’s alleged sexual relationships with NBC bookers and producers.” They even questioned Lauer about the rumors, which he adamantly denied. Ellison further explains that because Lauer was frequently followed by paparazzi, the only place he could engage in sexually inappropriate behavior was in his office or on the road. According to her reporting, there were “two groups of women that Lauer seemed to focus his attention on: interns, pages, and production assistants in charge of running scripts in the morning; and also bookers.” Ellison explains that Lauer’s downfall could’ve come from “any number of his current or former colleagues,” speculating, based on one source, that Megyn Kelly might’ve helped women come forward. (A person close to Kelly denies this is true.) “Similarly,” she adds, “NBC insiders saw the hand of Ann Curry, whom Lauer ousted, in his demise, and possibly even Billy Bush.” But neither could be reached for comment.

ALSO:

NBC News "unequivocally" denies Variety's report that executives received complaints about Lauer before Monday (https://imgur.com/a/SDQOJ): “We can say unequivocally, that, prior to Monday night, current NBC News management was never made aware of any complaints about Matt Lauer’s conduct.”
How could NBC claim to not have known about Lauer before Monday? (https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-can-nbc-claim-not-to-have-known-about-matt-lauer)
Did NBC News scrap Ronan Farrow’s explosive Harvey Weinstein exposé because they knew it would affect Lauer? (https://nypost.com/2017/11/29/matt-lauers-fall-from-grace-raises-a-lot-of-questions-about-nbc/)
How Lauer rose to the top: In 1990, he was out of the news business and working as a tree-trimmer (https://pagesix.com/2017/11/30/how-matt-lauer-rose-to-the-top-of-today-before-shocking-downfall/)
In 2008, Lauer joked that he slept with both Katie Couric and Ann Curry (https://www.thecut.com/2017/11/matt-lauer-once-joked-about-sleeping-with-his-colleagues.html)
Here are the 12 most notorious Matt Lauer stories (http://www.vulture.com/2017/11/matt-lauer-notorious-stories.html)
Lauer’s “secret door lock button” isn’t unusual at NBC (https://twitter.com/yashar/status/935997514238611457) — or at other companies (https://twitter.com/bereftylefty/status/935989119120957441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.slate.com%2Farticles%2Ftechnology%2Ftechnology%2F2017%2F11%2Fhow_nefarious_was_matt_lauer_s_secret_door_locking_button.html), where they're intended as a security feature and/or for private conversations

Networks became too reliant on larger-than-life TV news stars, as shown in the firings of Matt Lauer and Charlie Rose (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/29/business/media/matt-lauer-sexual-misconduct.html)
“As leading national news hosts able to reach millions of people, Mr. Lauer and Mr. Rose are in a different sphere,” says Jim Rutenberg. “The notion of anchor as authority — a stubbornly male prototype that goes back to the pre-feminist days of Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite — was flawed to begin with. And yet, news organizations continue to depend on stars to what often seems like an unhealthy degree. In this, they are not so different from Hollywood producers whose main concern is having a big opening weekend. The stature of the men behind the desk was such that they ended up holding a high level of power within their organizations to go with their lavish pay. And, per the accusations against them, they used it on underlings who, as one of Mr. Lauer’s accusers put it to The Times, did not feel as if they were able to say no or repeat mistreatment to higher-ups.

ALSO:

Lauer’s firing gives NBC a chance to “test a longstanding myth” that expensive talent is essential to a show's success (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/matt-lauers-today-firing-gives-nbc-a-chance-remake-a-500m-franchise-guest-column-1062533)
Lauer was able to get away with bad behavior because Today made its own rules, operating independently within NBC News (http://www.tmz.com/2017/11/30/matt-lauer-today-nbc-news-rules-sexual-harassment/)
“Ailes. O'Reilly. Halperin. Rose. Lauer. These were among the most influential, best paid figures in TV news.” (https://twitter.com/davidfolkenflik/status/935849988164407298)
Lauer made at least $100 million before NBC fired him (http://time.com/money/5041018/matt-lauer-net-worth/)

Today will never be the same, especially with its notion of “family” (http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/today-show-matt-lauer-aftermath-sexual-harassment-1202626316/)
For years, promoted the fiction that the Today show was like family with its “manufactured conviviality,” which “NBC played into that by steadily creating cults of personality around its anchors,” says Sonia Saraiya. “And yet," she adds, "Wednesday morning, turning on Today brought the sexual harassment movement right to your home, whether you wanted it or not. Now that we all know about Matt Lauer’s secret button that locked the door behind unsuspecting women he called into his office, the illusion of a happy television family is hard to believe in. Now the viewing audience has to reckon with the fact that the man they knew and watched for 20 years is, according to the company who made his career and the co-anchor who still calls herself his friend, a predator.”

ALSO:

NBC must race to save its cash cow: GMA barely beat Today in the key demo in November sweeps (http://www.indiewire.com/2017/11/matt-lauer-firing-today-nbc-morning-show-wars-1201902041/)
Should NBC promote from within? Or pick somebody from CNBC or MSNBC? (http://www.vulture.com/2017/11/matt-lauer-who-will-replace-him-at-today.html)
10 potential Lauer replacements: Brian Williams? Ann Curry? Carson Daly? George Stephanopoulos!? (http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/matt-lauer-fired-today-show-replacements-ann-curry-megyn-kelly-1202625887/)
Padma Lakshmi was scheduled to do a cooking segment Wednesday with Lauer (https://pagesix.com/2017/11/29/top-chef-host-30-rock-felt-like-mortuary-after-lauer-firing/): “When I walked into 30 Rock it felt like someone had died”
Watch Charlie Rose awkwardly ask Matt Lauer and Katie Couric about their chemistry (http://www.newsweek.com/charlie-rose-matt-lauer-katie-couric-interview-725808)

Late-night hosts tended to discuss Matt Lauer’s firing by mentioning President Trump (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2017/11/30/late-night-tv-hosts-skewer-matt-lauer-and-president-trumps-response/)
Stephen Colbert opened his Late Show monologue by saying “I am one of the few men still allowed on television.” Jimmy Kimmel weighed in saying, “If anyone knows about inappropriate behavior at the workplace at NBC, it’s Donald J. Trump. Is he aware that he’s him? I don’t think he is. I think he sees Donald Trump on TV and goes, ‘I like that guy.'” Colbert and Jimmy Fallon also brought up how Trump tweeted about the fired Today show host.

ALSO:

Trevor Noah joked: “Soon they’ll have enough guys to start their own Perv News Network!” (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2017/11/30/late-night-tv-hosts-skewer-matt-lauer-and-president-trumps-response/)
Fallon: “If you’re wondering where in the world is Matt Lauer, he’s probably at a bar with Charlie Rose” (https://www.mediaite.com/tv/trevor-noah-slams-matt-lauer-soon-theyll-have-enough-guys-to-start-their-own-perv-news-network/)

NBC News correspondent Stephanie Gosk explains her “incredibly strange” job of covering the Matt Lauer firing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuMhTb2rxpY&t=8m0s)
Gosk tells Rachel Maddow she’s been trying to cover Lauer’s firing as she covered the firing of Charlie Rose last week. But she adds, “it gets difficult because I’m in this building. And although some of the conversations I’ve have had in this building have been on the record, things that are being shared publicly, very obviously there are also other conversations that I overhear amongst colleagues, things that are being said privately to each other, that are things that typically a reporter might glob onto and want to report. I have to draw those lines just by the very nature of the fact that I’m in this newsroom all day long.” Gosk says she chose not to attend a closed-door NBC News staff meeting because she wouldn’t be able to report its details.

ALSO:

Watch Brian Williams’ coverage of Lauer’s firing on MSNBC’s The 11th Hour (https://youtu.be/GARHbgYrknI?t=11m)
Watch Gosk’s NBC Nightly News report on Lauer’s firing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT4IpQ0kA7g)
Watch Natalie Morales on Access Hollywood Live discuss the Lauer firing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1f6xbi5CEQ)

Matt Lauer didn’t have his secret door-lock button installed — General Electric did, many years ago (https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/so-you-had-questions-about-that-button-on-matt-lauers-desk/2017/12/01/48b1f7c2-d6bd-11e7-a986-d0a9770d9a3e_story.html)
“The mechanism was a standard feature in many of the older offices at 30 Rockefeller Center,” reports Paul Farhi, who adds that “the buttons had more innocent purposes when they were installed years earlier by General Electric, which owned NBC for years and shared office space with the network.” He also reports that “the feature was a perk for top executives who wanted privacy for personal calls or as security in the event of a calamity — such as an active shooter within the building. It’s not clear how many people at NBC News had offices equipped with the device.”

NBC News boss announces a “thorough” review of Matt Lauer’s “appalling behavior,” says “the system works” (http://ew.com/tv/2017/12/01/matt-lauer-andy-lack-nbc/)

“This week we saw that when an employee comes forward to report misconduct, the system works,” NBC News chair Andy Lack said in a statement to his staff. “The complaint is quickly assessed and meaningful action is taken. But we also learned that we must do a much better job of making people feel empowered to take that crucial first step of reporting bad behavior.” In addition to announcing “in-person” sexual harassment training — to supplement online training — Lack announced that “a team of the most experienced NBCUniversal Legal and Human Resources leaders have begun a thorough and timely review of what happened and what we can do to build a culture of greater transparency, openness and respect for each other. At the conclusion of the review we will share what we’ve learned, no matter how painful, and act on it.”

ALSO:

This morning's Today showed a paparazzi photo of Lauer getting out of his car (https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status/936569896950956032)
Lauer’s ex-wife says he was “blindsided" and that she informed him when a reporter visited last week (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/matt-lauer-blindsided-by-accusations-says-wife-1063354)
Bryant Gumbel says of his former Today colleague: “I still love him!” (http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/confidential/bryant-gumbel-supports-friend-matt-lauer-article-1.3670128)

Seth Meyers did not hold back in slamming former NBC colleague Matt Lauer (https://www.thedailybeast.com/seth-meyers-goes-all-in-on-nbcs-matt-lauer)

While fellow NBC late-night host Jimmy Fallon told “one measly joke” in response to Lauer's firing, Meyers — whose response to Lauer’s firing was delayed because Wednesday’s Late Night was pretaped (https://www.tvtattle.com/item/Seth-Meyers-had-to-pretape-Wednesday-s-Late-Night-on-Tuesday-There-s-an-excellent-chance-something-crazy-happened-that-we-won-t-comment-on-WoSaZ4) — “came back with a vengeance on Thursday,” says Matt Wilstein. Last night's “A Closer Look” segment (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WnizmrnJlk) went into detail on the “disturbing” allegations against the former Today star, including the “F, Marry, Kill” game and the dildo he brought to work. “I don’t know who you said you’d marry in those situations, but I do know that you killed your career and f*cked yourself,” said Meyers. The Late Night host also highlighted what was considered Lauer's preferential treatment for Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton at last year’s Commander-in-Chief forum. Meyers also showed a clip of Lauer interviewing another accused sexual harasser, Bill O’Reilly, just a few months ago. “Wow, he was talking to Bill O’Reilly, but he just as easily could have been talking to a mirror,” Meyers said.

ALSO:

What we lose when we let “Predatory Men” like Matt Lauer shape the national conversation (https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/matt-lauer-what-we-lose-when-we-let-predatory-men-shape-the-national-conversation_us_5a1f28fde4b0a8581e67a567)
NBC’s Today showed a “theater of accountability,” turning what was supposed to be scrutiny into grief (https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/matt-lauers-firing-and-nbcs-theatre-of-accountability)
Megyn Kelly wants Matt Lauer and his accusers on her show, yet NBC News seems unwilling to be “transparent” (https://www.thedailybeast.com/megyn-kelly-wants-matt-lauer-and-his-victims-to-confessbut-does-nbc-want-that-transparency)
NBC News chairman Andy Lack was brought back to fix NBC News after the Brian Williams fiasco, yet NBC News is mired in controversy (https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2017/11/30/after-matt-lauer-firing-nbc-chief-andy-lack-faces-more-questions-network-crisis/906906001/)
Veep producer/former NY Times critic Frank Rich knew about the allegations three weeks ago (http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/11/frank-rich-nbc-still-has-a-lot-to-answer-for.html): “NBC and NBC News should not be allowed to play the victim here”
It’s time to scrap “America’s Dad” as our journalistic standard (http://www.vulture.com/2017/11/matt-lauer-americas-dad-image-of-journalism.html)
In Touch Weekly’s new issue, published before Lauer’s firing, had the headline: “Matt’s Quitting The Today Show!” (https://twitter.com/evepeyser/status/936427797303750656)
Lauer has disappeared from social media (https://pagesix.com/2017/11/30/matt-lauer-nowhere-to-be-found-on-social-media/)
Lauer, Charlie Rose held rarefied positions as ambassadors to the public on behalf of their corporations (http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/matt-lauer-hosts-problem-morning-news-late-night-1202627296/)
Lauer’s secret door-locking button is a vivid metaphor of the amount of power he wielded (https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/11/about-that-secret-button-in-matt-lauers-office/547106/)

NBC seems plagued with problems, especially when it comes to sexual harassment (http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/11/30/wtf_nbc.html)
Matt Lauer, Donald Trump and Mark Halperin all share two things in common: NBC as a former employer and accusations of sexual harassment. Then there is NBC News’ questionable decision to spike Ronan Farrow’s bombshell Harvey Weinstein story. “Here,” says Ben Mathis-Lilly, “we have a network and its news operation that could have changed the course of two of the biggest stories of the past two years: Trump and sexual assault. Instead it suppressed news in a way that helped bad actors keep or obtain power. And I haven’t even mentioned that its most famous anchor never came fully clean about having made up a war story. What is NBC doing?”

Report: NBC News bosses questioned Matt Lauer “multiple times, in multiple ways (and) in multiple settings” in recent weeks (https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/nbc-lauer-said-he-was-racking-his-brain-but-came-up-blank-when-asked-about-harassment/2017/12/01/23fc8a52-d6ed-11e7-a986-d0a9770d9a3e_story.html)

The former Today anchor was grilled in the days before a formal complaint was filed against him. Lauer responded that he was “racking his brain and couldn’t think of anything at all” when confronted by NBC News chairman Andy Lack and NBC News president Noah Oppenheim in the two weeks before he was fired, reports Paul Farhi. Both executives weren’t contacted by Variety or The New York Times, which were investigating Lauer. But both publications did reach out to lower-level staffers, who tipped off their bosses, prompting their questioning of Lauer. As Farhi, reports, “in addition to asking Lauer about the rumored allegations, the network searched its human-resources and legal archives to see if there were any complaints or settlements involving Lauer...They found none..."

ALSO:

No way is Lauer getting a $30 million settlement — he has a morals clause (http://deadline.com/2017/12/matt-lauer-fired-wants-30-million-nbc-news-wont-pay-1202218597/)
NBC plans to erase Matt Lauer’s memory by having his notorious office “completely demolished” (https://pagesix.com/2017/12/01/nbc-news-is-erasing-all-memory-of-matt-lauer/)
Conan O’Brien aired a “Creepy Matt Lauer” segment airing during the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics (http://perezhilton.com/2017-12-01-matt-lauer-creepy-conan-obrien-interview-sochi-olympics-mikaela-shiffrin#.WiH94EtrxMC)
Willie Geist looks like a top contender to replace Lauer on Today (http://www.etonline.com/megyn-kelly-not-expected-replace-matt-lauer-today-heres-who-might-91979)

SNL briefly touched upon Matt Lauer’s firing (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/03/arts/television/saturday-night-live-matt-lauer.html)

The former Today anchor is the third person with a connection to Saturday Night Live to be accused of sexual harassment, following Louis CK (host of last season’s finale) and Al Franken. According to IMDb, Lauer has made two SNL cameos and co-hosted the 2015 Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Red Carpet Special (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4460266/). In addition, Lauer has played himself on five episodes of the Lorne Michaels-produced 30 Rock (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005126/#self). Lauer’s firing was alluded to in the cold open which featured a visit from the ghost of “Billy Bush.” On "Weekend Update," Colin Jost and Michael Che each got in a joke at Lauer’s expense (http://uproxx.com/news/snl-matt-lauer-ann-curry-weekend-update/), one mentioning Ann Curry and the other referencing Lauer’s alleged sex toy. ALSO: Why SNL’s “Welcome to Hell” sexual harassment music video was so surprising. (https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/12/saturday-night-live-welcome-to-hell-video-music-song-sexual-assualt?)

I'm glad he was fired, he came across as arrogant. I haven't watched the show since Ann Curry got dumped. I was surprised at Charlie Rose, I didn't realize he was such a terrible person behind the scenes, but CBS and PBS did the right thing and fired him as well.

I'm glad he was fired, he came across as arrogant. I haven't watched the show since Ann Curry got dumped. I was surprised at Charlie Rose, I didn't realize he was such a terrible person behind the scenes, but CBS and PBS did the right thing and fired him as well.

Not only arrogant, but he was already showing signs (http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/sex-therapist-confirms-gave-matt-lauer-bag-sex-toys-article-1.3676484) that he was really a major creep (http://www.nickiswift.com/98907/matt-lauers-questionable-screen-moments/) before all of this went public!

Matt Lauer had absolutely everything and was living a fantasy life. Extremely wealthy, working a fun job, living in New York City, famous and well known and loved, and importantly, has (or had soon) a beautiful, exotic, model wife.

Why do these guys openly do this to women in the office? Just seems to open one up to a lot of trouble. Lauer could have gotten a lot of ladies on the down low. Lauer has also been on television for twenty years, why now, instead of years ago?

Report: Matt Lauer’s “intense jealousy” is why NBC doesn’t have a Plan B — and why Craig Melvin is the frontrunner to replace him (https://pagesix.com/2017/12/04/matt-lauers-intense-jealously-left-nbc-without-a-plan-b/)
“Matt killed off, in their infancy, every man who could succeed him at the time that he was ready to hang it up — so there’s nobody to take his place,” a source tells Page Six. “And now NBC is paying the price.” Which leaves Melvin, a Weekend Today anchor, as the frontrunner.

I don't buy into the "Today will never be the same" line. How many people today remember David Hartman on GMA? He was the face of the show for years. Lauer will be forgotten as well. Most of the people who watch Today have never heard of Dave Garroway and also don't recall Bryant Gumbel's stint. The fact is that Today is a venerable fixture that recent doings won't undo.

NBC has just made bad decisions in recent years, and they continue. I think Megyn Kelly is like a cancer and it's no coincidence that Lauer's undoing came soon after her arrival. You couldn't have someone doing that much misconduct while at the same time airing a witch whose sole purpose in life is to (allegorically) castrate as many big shots as she can. Dump her and hire some normal, likeable people who don't obsess on sex or sex crimes.

Its been almost a week since Matt Lauer was gone from Today Show after a mere 21 year run as the co-anchor. I suggest anyone(except for Megyn Kelly & Brian Williams) can very likely take his old hosting gig on a morning program. Thankfully Hoda Kotb did great job co-anchoring w/ Savannah Guthrie so far.

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Denis Leary on Matt Lauer: “I thought he was a creepy, douchey guy from the get-go” (https://pagesix.com/2017/12/07/denis-leary-always-thought-matt-lauer-was-a-creep/)
Leary said on The Talk that he was so turned off by Lauer (http://www.nickiswift.com/98498/celebs-cant-stand-matt-lauer/) that “I stopped being interviewed by him on the Today show about 10 years ago because he was so creepy… I said to my publicist, I don’t want to be interviewed by him anymore. I want to be interviewed by the girls.”

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Corey Feldman
Rose McGowan
Keith Olberman
Kathy Griffin
Tom Cruise
Brian Williams
Hillary Clinton
Kanye West

I never watched Matt Lauer - ever - but if those are the people that hate him then maybe that's why he was so popular all those years. Those are some of the craziest and most despicable people in the public eye in our time.

Katie Couric breaks her silence on Matt Lauer’s sexual harassment scandal: “It’s incredibly upsetting” (https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/katie-couric-breaks-silence-on-matt-lauer-scandal/)
The former Today anchor has been noticeably silent as she’s tweeted (https://twitter.com/katiecouric) and posted pictures on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/katiecouric/) in the nine days since Lauer was fired. But last night, after Couric posted a Throwback Thursday image on Instagram, a commenter asked Couric about her thoughts on Lauer: “It’s incredibly upsetting and I will say something when I’m ready to,” Couric responded. “Thanks for your interest.”

A former Today production assistant recounts her consensual secret relationship with Matt Lauer (http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/matt-lauer-today-secret-relationship-production-assistant-1202641040/)
Addie Collins was 24 in 2000 when the 40-something Lauer started aggresively hitting (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5181045/How-Matt-Lauer-seduced-Today-PA-dressing-room-sex.html#ixzz51HKGBo76) on her. Although her relationship with Lauer was consensual, she's speaking out now because she sees parallels between her story and the accounts of Lauer’s unnamed accusers.

Some women have always wanted a Today sans Matt Lauer (http://www.refinery29.com/2017/12/186097/women-watch-today-show-without-matt-lauer)
"Frankly, I'm not surprised at all that the Today show ratings have improved, because I always thought (Lauer) was the weakest host," says attorney Liesel Burks, who considered Katie Couric and Ann Curry the strongest past hosts. "Today show's greatest strength has been the high-caliber female journalists that the show has promoted over the years, and I wish they had been able to shine more."

Hoda Kotb Officially Replacing Matt Lauer as "Today" Co-Anchor
by Liam Mathews
Jan 2, 2018


Hoda Kotb has been named the permanent co-anchor of the early hours of "Today", the NBC morning show revealed during Tuesday's broadcast. She'll be joining Savannah Guthrie on the 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. hours, as well as continuing to co-host the 10 a.m. hour with Kathie Lee Gifford.

Kotb had been filling in for Matt Lauer since Nov. 29 when he was fired for sexual misconduct. Kotb and Guthrie have consistently led the competition in their time together, earning "Today" higher total viewer numbers now than with Lauer.

Kotb and Guthrie will be the first female anchoring duo in "Today" history.





"This must be the most popular decision NBC News has ever made," Guthrie said just after introducing Kotb as her new co-anchor.

"I'm pinching myself," Kotb said. "I think that we should send some medics to Alexandria, Virginia, where my mother has likely fainted after hearing the open of that show."

Kotb's other co-anchor, Kathie Lee Gifford, shared well-wishes on Twitter. "So happy for my dear friend @hodakotb !! Congratulations on being named the new Co Anchor of @TODAYshow !! Nobody does it better!!"

http://www.tvguide.com/news/hoda-kotb-today-co-anchor-matt-lauer-savannah-guthrie/

http://www.agcwebpages.com/BLINDITEMS/2018/JAN.html

11. ENTERTAINMENT LAWYER 01/02 **#11**
So, apparently if you keep all the secrets you know in house about all the sexual harassment and assault, you not only get promoted, but thanks from the deviant (http://www.etonline.com/hoda-kotb-reveals-matt-lauers-text-after-replacing-him-today-show-co-anchor-exclusive-93373) too. Hoda Kotb (replacing Matt Lauer on "Today") (https://pagesix.com/2018/01/02/matt-lauer-sent-hoda-kotb-a-congratulatory-text/)

So now Hoda Kotb is gonna be teamin' up with Savannah Guthrie

Even though I haven't watched the TODAY Show since the firing of Ann Curry, it's gonna be hard for them to regain the #1 spot against Good Morning America

We shall see

Having Hoda Kotb pairing with Savannah Guthrie on a permanent basis does make sense & accurate for NBC's Today Show on good terms.

Matt Lauer is reportedly sending unsolicited feedback to Today staffers (https://pagesix.com/2018/01/03/matt-lauer-still-trying-to-have-a-hand-in-today/)
According to Page Six, the fired former Today co-anchor recently emailed a producer to critique the morning show's choice of music to introduce a segment.

Katie Couric Opens Up about Matt Lauer Allegations: "This Was Not the Matt We Knew"
by Katie Killkenney
Jan. 13, 2018


Over a month after her former morning-show colleague Matt Lauer was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women, his former "Today" show co-host Katie Couric has opened up for the first time on her response to the news, saying in an interview that the alleged conduct "was not the Matt we knew."

"The whole thing has been very painful for me," Couric told People in an interview published Saturday. "I had no idea this was going on during my tenure or after I left. I think I speak for many of my former colleagues when I say this was not the Matt we knew."




Couric added that Lauer's conduct to her was always professional, and that he was like a brother.

"Matt was a kind and generous colleague who treated me with respect. In fact, a joke I once made on late-night television was just that, because it was completely contrary to our brother-sister relationship. It’s still very upsetting. I really admire the way Savannah [Guthrie] and Hoda [Kotb] and the entire Today show staff have handled a very difficult situation."

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/katie-couric-opens-up-matt-lauer-allegations-was-not-matt-we-knew-1074581

Katie Couric Opens Up about Matt Lauer Allegations: "This Was Not the Matt We Knew"
by Katie Killkenney
Jan. 13, 2018


Over a month after her former morning-show colleague Matt Lauer was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women, his former "Today" show co-host Katie Couric has opened up for the first time on her response to the news, saying in an interview that the alleged conduct "was not the Matt we knew."

"The whole thing has been very painful for me," Couric told People in an interview published Saturday. "I had no idea this was going on during my tenure or after I left. I think I speak for many of my former colleagues when I say this was not the Matt we knew."




Couric added that Lauer's conduct to her was always professional, and that he was like a brother.

"Matt was a kind and generous colleague who treated me with respect. In fact, a joke I once made on late-night television was just that, because it was completely contrary to our brother-sister relationship. It’s still very upsetting. I really admire the way Savannah [Guthrie] and Hoda [Kotb] and the entire Today show staff have handled a very difficult situation."

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/katie-couric-opens-up-matt-lauer-allegations-was-not-matt-we-knew-1074581

Why Katie Couric’s belated response to Matt Lauer’s sex scandal is BS (https://jezebel.com/this-is-some-bull****-from-katie-couric-1822052424)
In breaking her silence about her former Today colleague, Couric told People that “I think I speak for many of my former colleagues when I say this was not the Matt we knew. Matt was a kind and generous colleague who treated me with respect.” To which Whitney Kimball is calling BS on, pointing out that Couric would have to be really ignorant to not have known about Lauer’s problems. “This seems unlikely,” she says. “It is very hard to believe that a journalist who spent 15 years co-hosting with Matt Lauer would not have picked up on some signs that he is at least a creep.”

Former "Today" Co-Host Ann Curry Not Surprised at Matt Lauer’s Ouster
by Greg Evans
January 17, 2018


Former "Today" co-host Ann Curry told "CBS This Morning" today that she was not surprised by the allegations of sexual harassment behind the downfall and November ouster of her former on-air colleague Matt Lauer.

Declining to go into specifics despite repeated prompting from Gayle King, Norah O’Donnell and John Dickerson, Curry said she is “trying not to hurt people. I know what its like to be publicly humiliated…and I don’t want to cause that kind of pain to somebody else. But because you’re asking me a very direct question: I would be surprised if many women did not understand that there was a climate of verbal harassment (at NBC’s Today) that existed. I’d think it would be surprising if someone said they didn’t see that.”

Among the things Curry didn’t specify was whom, exactly, she was “trying not to hurt” – Lauer or the women he allegedly harassed.





King raised the topic of the public perception that Curry’s tearful departure from "Today" had been in some way orchestrated by Lauer. She asked Curry whether Lauer “derailed” her career.

“Was Matt Lauer behind your leaving the Today show?” asked King, then mentioned Curry’s emotional "Today" farewell. “You should ask someone else,” said Curry. “I’m not the one to ask about that.”

“You’re the only one to ask,” said King. “No no, because I don’t know what was all behind it,” Curry said. “I do know it hurt like hell, it wasn’t a fun moment, I learned a great deal about myself. I’ve really at this point let it go. I’ve just let it go. It’s been years and I want to really move on from that. At this point I’m thinking hakuna matata.”





Curry then widened the discussion. “The real question in my view is what are we going to do with all this anger,” she said, noting that the problem of sexual harassment is “pervasive” across industries and the country.

As for the current on-air leadership of "Today" – Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb are the co-anchors – Curry said the female team is “overdue.”

http://deadline.com/2018/01/ann-curry-today-matt-lauer-cbs-this-morning-gayle-king-not-surprised-sexual-harassment-1202244507/

https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/matt-lauer-is-happy-to-no-longer-be-living-a-lie.1404884/

RadarOnline.com can exclusively reveal that, according to sources, Matt Lauer and his wife Annette Roque are going full steam ahead with the divorce process after the disgraced Today host was fired amid shocking allegations of sexual misconduct.

“Matt has been in New York City over the weekend meeting with lawyers,” an insider told Radar.

While the former NBC co-anchor was raking in $20 million a year before he was canned, “Surprisingly he doesn’t care about the money or the assets,” noted the insider. “He thinks he will be back on TV again and can make back anything he has to pay” Dutch former model Roque.

“Matt is shockingly upbeat and almost seems relieved his marriage is over,” added the source. “He thinks he can start over fresh in both his personal and professional life.”

Roque, 51, has kicked her husband out of the estate they shared in the Hamptons .

As Radar reported, Lauer, 60, isn’t the only one who has met with legal experts . Though she has yet to file for divorce, a “grim-faced” Roque was spotted at the Manhattan law offices of Latham & Watkins on Dec. 20.

As for Lauer, said the insider, “He is happy to no longer be living a lie.”

Wendy Williams: It’s “now beneath” Hoda Kotb to continue hosting Today’s fourth hour with Kathie Lee Gifford (http://hollywoodlife.com/2018/01/29/wendy-williams-disses-kathie-lee-gifford-today-show-hoda-kotb-job/)
“How much longer do you think Hoda’s going to stick around and drink wine on that fourth hour?” Williams said on Monday’s show. “It is now beneath her to be there. Let Kathie Lee find some other socialite to sit with. Hoda, you’re in the news room now.”

Matt Lauer Breaks Silence to Address Sexual Misconduct Allegations
by Karen Mizoguchi
April 27, 2018


Matt Lauer is speaking out about the sexual misconduct allegations that led to his termination from NBC’s "Today" show. For the first time in five months, since he was fired in November 2017, Lauer, 60, revealed he chose to raise his voice now to address the reports following his initial statement.

“I have made no public comments on the many false stories from anonymous or biased sources that have been reported about me over these past several months. I remained silent in an attempt to protect my family from further embarrassment and to restore a small degree of the privacy they have lost,” Lauer said in a statement to The Washington Post on Wednesday and published on Thursday.

“But defending my family now requires me to speak up. I fully acknowledge that I acted inappropriately as a husband, father and principal at NBC. However I want to make it perfectly clear that any allegations or reports of coercive, aggressive or abusive actions on my part, at any time, are absolutely false,” he concluded the statement.

A rep for Lauer did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

http://ew.com/tv/2018/04/26/matt-lauer-breaks-silence-sexual-misconduct-allegations/

Matt Lauer Breaks Silence to Address Sexual Misconduct Allegations
by Karen Mizoguchi
April 27, 2018

Matt Lauer is speaking out about the sexual misconduct allegations that led to his termination from NBC’s "Today" show. For the first time in five months, since he was fired in November 2017, Lauer, 60, revealed he chose to raise his voice now to address the reports following his initial statement.

“I have made no public comments on the many false stories from anonymous or biased sources that have been reported about me over these past several months. I remained silent in an attempt to protect my family from further embarrassment and to restore a small degree of the privacy they have lost,” Lauer said in a statement to The Washington Post on Wednesday and published on Thursday.

“But defending my family now requires me to speak up. I fully acknowledge that I acted inappropriately as a husband, father and principal at NBC. However I want to make it perfectly clear that any allegations or reports of coercive, aggressive or abusive actions on my part, at any time, are absolutely false,” he concluded the statement.

A rep for Lauer did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

http://ew.com/tv/2018/04/26/matt-lauer-breaks-silence-sexual-misconduct-allegations/

Matt Lauer says he apologized "to the people I had hurt" after his NBC firing (http://people.com/tv/matt-lauer-apologized-to-people-hurt/)
Last night, The Washington Post printed new allegations against Lauer (https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/nbc-news-faces-skepticism-in-remedying-in-house-sexual-harassment/2018/04/26/7fa8a666-4979-11e8-8b5a-3b1697adcc2a_story.html) and released a new statement from the fired Today anchor. But his lawyer says the statement, which was given Wednesday, wasn't printed in full. So People magazine has released the full statement (http://people.com/tv/matt-lauer-apologized-to-people-hurt/). “Five months ago I was terminated by NBC after admitting to past relationships with co-workers," Lauer said (https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/matt-lauer-breaks-silence-with-new-statement-five-months-after-today-firing.1562043/) in the portion of the statement that wasn't printed. "A day later I took responsibility, apologized to the people I had hurt and promised to begin the process of repairing the damage I had caused my family. I have worked every day since then to honor that promise."

Matt Lauer accuser's attorney blasts NBC News for not hiring an outside firm to investigate sexual harassment allegations (http://variety.com/2018/biz/news/tom-brokaw-sexual-harassment-matt-lauer-nbc-news-linda-vester-1202790900/)
“The problem is not just the superstar harassers, it’s the top management,” said Ari Wilkenfeld, whose client's complaint resulted in the former Today host's termination, in a statement to Variety. “The man who runs NBC News today oversaw a news division in which widespread harassment of women was allowed to occur, has appointed himself responsible for investigating and solving the problem. One important reason companies hire outside investigators is to send a strong signal to their own employees that the company wants to get to the root of what happened and is prepared to accept responsibility. Sadly, it seems that NBC has chosen to go in a very different direction.”

NBC News probe finds "no evidence" that leadership knew of Matt Lauer's sexual misconduct (https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/09/nbc-matt-lauer-investigation-577293)
The NBC News internal investigation found that "all four women who came forward confirmed that they did not tell their direct manager or anyone else in a position of authority about their sexual encounters with Lauer.” Although Ann Curry recently told (https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/nbc-news-faces-skepticism-in-remedying-in-house-sexual-harassment/2018/04/26/7fa8a666-4979-11e8-8b5a-3b1697adcc2a_story.html) The Washington Post that she warned management of a colleague's sexual misconduct complaint against Lauer, the report said Curry declined to name the manager (https://www.thedailybeast.com/she-should-have-fought-back-other-people-did-inside-gina-haspels-black-site) she spoke to and the investigation found no proof that NBC leadership talked to her about a complaint. The NBC News investigation searched Lauer's emails and text messages and found no evidence that management knew of his behavior, but the report noted that “the availability of evidence was impacted by the passage of time." (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/09/business/media/matt-lauer-nbc-investigation.html) ALSO: The report explained the button under Lauer's desk actually didn't lock the door to his office. (https://www.thecut.com/2018/05/nbc-matt-lauer-report-sexual-misconduct-desk-button.html)

NBC's head of human resources to depart amid Matt Lauer fallout (https://jezebel.com/nbc-head-of-human-resources-to-resign-amidst-matt-lauer-1825893072)
NBC had nothing but praise in announcing the June departure of Pat Langer, NBC Universal's executive vice president of human resources. "I cannot thank Pat enough for her leadership and contributions to our company,” NBC Universal's executive vice president Adam Miller said in announcing her departure. But even though an NBC report released today found that management wasn't told of Matt Lauer's sexual misconduct allegations before the events that got him fired, reports from Variety and Ann Curry said management was informed in the past of Lauer's behavior. As Joanna Rothkopf notes, "it could be that NBC’s HR department is so dysfunctional that misconduct allegations against the most prominent anchor at the network were misplaced—maybe forgotten under a pile of manila envelopes. Or it could be that the people who received the complaints intentionally chose not to escalate them, unaware of the demands of their job, or unwilling to alienate the figurehead of the network’s marquee program."

On the one-year anniversary of Matt Lauer's firing, Linda Vester calls for an independent investigation into misconduct at NBC News (https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/linda-vester-matt-lauer-was-fired-a-year-ago-nbc-news-culture-is-comcasts-failure)

Vester, a former NBC News correspondent who accused Tom Brokaw of sexual misconduct (https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/tom-brokaw-sexual-harassment-nbc-news-correspondent-1202789627/) earlier this year, writes in a Fox News website Op-Ed: "Thursday will mark one year since Matt Lauer was fired (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/nbc-news-terminates-matt-lauer-citing-complaint-inappropriate-sexual-behavior-1062408) from NBC’s Today show for sexual misconduct. But since that reckoning, has NBC News really changed? The culture and management of NBC News continue to silence women, while parent company Comcast apparently does nothing. It is time to hold the Comcast Board of Directors accountable. NBC News may have conducted a limited “culture review,” but I continue to hear from women working there that harassment still goes unpunished, that they still face intimidation, and that they still fear for their careers if they complain."

Matt Lauer appears in Today's 70th-anniversary celebration video (https://pagesix.com/2022/01/14/matt-lauer-is-in-today-70th-anniversary-tribute-despite-scandal/)

The disgraced former Today anchor, who was fired for sexual misconduct in November 2017 appeared four times in Today's 12-minute anniversary celebration video (https://www.today.com/news/news/today-70-celebrate-memories-messages-shows-rcna12210) marking its 70th anniversary that aired this morning. Lauer's four appearances include his coverage of the 9/11 attacks, his famous sitdown with Hillary Clinton in 1998, him reporting from Egypt and scuba-diving.

Billy Bush is reportedly "livid" after he was excluded from Today's 70th anniversary video (https://nypost.com/2022/01/14/billy-bush-livid-over-today-snub-in-70th-anniversary-video)

Today's 12-minute video (https://www.today.com/news/news/today-70-celebrate-memories-messages-shows-rcna12210) that aired this morning featured the disgraced Matt Lauer (https://pagesix.com/2022/01/14/matt-lauer-is-in-today-70th-anniversary-tribute-despite-scandal/), but not Bush, who was fired from Today in 2016 following the emergence of his infamous Access Hollywood tape with Donald Trump.

Matt Lauer Remains 'Withdrawn' 5 Years After Today Exit: 'Talking to People from His Past Is Painful' (https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/matt-lauer-remains-withdrawn-5-020416761.html)

Charlotte Triggs
Mon, November 28, 2022 at 6:04 PM

Matt Lauer is continuing to tighten his inner circle five years after being ousted from the Today show.

A source tells PEOPLE exclusively that the former morning show anchor, 64, has "kind of withdrawn from several friendships in the last year," particularly following the release of his former co-host Katie Couric's memoir, Going There.

"He was really upset by Katie Couric's book," (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-11480499/Matt-Lauer-tightens-inner-circle-getting-semi-slammed-Katie-Couric-2021-memoir.html) the insider reveals. "She shared their private text messages and she semi-slammed him. It made him lose trust."

The source continues, "His level of trust has just diminished with a lot of people he considered friends and much of that was because of Katie's book, and because talking to people from his past is painful."

The insider adds that Lauer is in "transitional time" with his two older children — Jack, 21, and Romy, 19 — who are now in college, and his youngest, 16-year-old Thrijs, who is in high school. The source notes he is a "semi-empty nester, not working."

A rep for Couric did not immediately return PEOPLE's request for comment.

During an appearance on Today in Oct. 2021, Couric, 65, said that when she heard about the allegations against Lauer, it was "really, really hard and it took me a long time to process what was going on.

"The side of Matt I knew was the side of Matt I think you all knew. He was kind, generous, considerate, a good colleague," she said. "I got more information and learned more about what was going on behind the scenes. And then I did some of my own reporting, talked to people, tried to excavate what had been going on. It was really devastating and also disgusting."

"I think what I realized is that there was a side of Matt I never really knew. I tried to understand why he behaved the way he did, and why he was so reckless, and callous, and honestly abusive to other women," Couric continued.

In a 2021 PEOPLE cover story, the television personality reiterated how she was "shocked" after learning of the allegations, and called Lauer's behavior "grossly inappropriate."

"That's not the Matt I knew," Couric said. "There's a duality in human beings, and sometimes they don't let you see both sides."

Lauer was fired by NBC in November 2017 after a former network employee, later identified as Brooke Nevils, reported that he sexually harassed her. Several other women came forward with similar accusations shortly thereafter.

Nevils went public to Ronan Farrow for his 2019 book Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators. To Farrow, Nevils alleged that Lauer raped her in his hotel room at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, where she was working for NBC's Meredith Vieira. Lauer has said all of his encounters were consensual.

I am still mad the way the Today Show did Ann Curry. Basically fired her but let her do a last show to tell everyone she was leaving and was in tears. According to this article, she doesnt know why she was fired and so abruptly.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/today-ann-curry-nbc-fired

Curry was a professional, articulate, a minority (well, half a minority) and gorgeous. She was shown the door for the rapist Matt Lauer. At least she is (as far as I know) rich and can laugh her beautiful behind off at Lauer and the embarrassment of him from her former employer.

Ann, I love you baby. I am married to an Asian woman who is just, just more beautiful than you, but only slightly.

I am still mad the way the Today Show did Ann Curry. Basically fired her but let her do a last show to tell everyone she was leaving and was in tears. According to this article, she doesnt know why she was fired and so abruptly.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/today-ann-curry-nbc-fired

Curry was a professional, articulate, a minority (well, half a minority) and gorgeous. She was shown the door for the rapist Matt Lauer. At least she is (as far as I know) rich and can laugh her beautiful behind off at Lauer and the embarrassment of him from her former employer.

Ann, I love you baby. I am married to an Asian woman who is just, just more beautiful than you, but only slightly.

I don't believe for a minute that Matt Lauer had anything to do with Ann Curry being fired.

Ed.

In addition to being a supremely credible newswoman of the highest ethics, Ann Curry is also a beautiful woman. I loved seeing how long her hair became before she cut it for donation, and then the growing continued.

Ann is deserving of a thread devoted to her, but in the meantime, please enjoy these nice images.

Here's a great look at Ann with long hair. Beautiful:
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Looking totally fabulous. Incredible:
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"Ann Fans" unite!
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Ann Curry was also very professional and took the job seriously. She should be the lead anchor of a network or CNN show. She is however now in her early 60's, wealthy and probably tired of the BS. I agree with a poster a few posts back, I dont think Matt Lauer had anything to do with getting rid of Curry but we really dont know. There is a lot of politics in this business and I am sure people feel threatened by other collegues real or perceived. But Today added more women anchor personalities afterwards. I cannot believe Curry did anything remotely wrong and wonder why she was fired.

If you have never seen it, watch the series "The Morning Show", I think it does a good job showing the politics and stress of being on one of these national news programs and what goes behind the scenes. There will be a Season 3 but not until sometime in 2023.

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#MattLauer (https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/mattlauer) was once TV's biggest personalities, now he's missing from the spotlight... let's get into it.

Matt Lauer Embroiled In Another Controversy 7 Years After TODAY Firing (https://www.nickiswift.com/1749319/matt-lauer-embroiled-another-controversy-seven-years-after-today-firing/)

Matt Lauer’s comeback? Not happening. The former "Today" show host is now at the center of disturbing new allegations centered around his New Zealand estate.

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When a celebrity is accused of sexual misconduct, plenty of people will go back to old interviews and begin to see things in a new light. When said celebrity is Matt Lauer, longtime host of NBC’s Today, there are a lot of cringe-worthy moments to choose from.

Looking back at Lauer’s interviews over the years, viewers have discovered plenty of bizarre and inappropriate questions, usually to female celebrities and often involving their bodies. From openly lusting over a singer’s daughter in front of the singer to some truly out-of-left-field questions, we’ve narrowed it down to eight times Matt Lauer acted totally inappropriate on TV.


Madonna | 0:23
Sandra Bullock | 1:14
Vince Gill's daughter | 1:59
Anne Hathaway | 2:20
Miley Cyrus | 3:00
Pippa Middleton | 3:29
GM CEO Mary Barra | 3:52
Pot and kettle | 4:23


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Even before he was fired from NBC’s Today for sexual misconduct, long-time host Matt Lauer was not a universally beloved figure. While many viewers expect morning interviews to be light and non-confrontational, Lauer had a penchant for making guests uncomfortable, often asking odd questions or pressing them on unpleasant issues.

This caused the anchor to make some enemies over the years, a few of whom took to social media to celebrate his firing. From the former co-worker that Lauer may have had removed from the show to the presidential candidate who didn’t find his interview questions appropriate, let’s take a look at a few celebrities who can’t stand Matt Lauer.


Corey Feldman | 0:00
Rose McGowan | 1:10
Keith Olbermann | 1:28
Kathy Griffin | 1:49
Tom Cruise | 2:15
Ann Curry | 2:56
Brian Williams | 3:27
Hillary Clinton | 4:07
Kanye West | 4:50


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NBC announced longtime Today co-host Matt Lauer had been fired after a sexual-harassment complaint was filed against him. In a statement, NBC News chairman Andy Lack added that there was “reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident.” While the news may have come as a shock to some, rumors about Lauer have been circulating for some time — and by late Wednesday afternoon, Variety published a disturbing two-month investigation into sexual harassment allegations against Lauer.

Don Lemon Claims “Women Love” Matt Lauer: “The Public Misses Him”
by Armando Tinoco
January 23, 2025


Don Lemon is defending his friend Matt Lauer and shares how the former "Today" host could return to media after his firing from the NBC morning show.

The former CNN anchor revealed that he has seen the public’s reaction to Lauer and believes that he could stage a comeback. “I think that if he could come back to digital, he can set his own course,” Lemon said on the Hollywood Raw Podcast with Dax Holt and Adam Glyn.




“I only got to know Matt after, you know, the whole situation happened, because we live in the same town and we have mutual friends,” Lemon said. “Whenever I see Matt out and about — or you know, if we go out to dinner, my husband and I go out to dinner with him and his fiancée — and people love him.”

Lemon added, “Women love him! They’re like, ‘Man, oh my God, can I get a picture? I love you. I miss you on television.’ I think the public loves him. The public misses him, but it’s just the… it’s the people inside the business who are afraid.”




Lemon's response when asked about the allegations against Lauer was, “I don’t know anything about what happened, I know nothing about that at all.”

He continued, “I’ll put it this way. I think the general public would accept Matt back. And I think people would watch him and I think the ratings would be great.”

https://deadline.com/2025/01/don-lemon-matt-lauer-fired-today-host-return-media-1236265890/

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After years of hiding from the spotlight, disturbing new claims suggest he's been trying to use Katie Couric to rebuild his image. From abusing his power over staff to living a shocking double life, Lauer’s past is catching up to him... so let's get into it.

Matt Lauer Is ‘Willing to Call People Out’ in Potential Tell-All Following Failed Career Comeback (https://nationalenquirer.com/matt-lauer-is-willing-to-call-people-out-in-potential-tell-all-following-failed-career-comeback/)

Matt Lauer has failed to score a career comeback (https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/matt-lauer-is-%E2%80%98willing-to-call-people-out%E2%80%99-in-potential-tell-all-following-failed-career-comeback.5974804/), so Today’s former golden boy is planning to cash in on his tarnished past with a take-no-prisoners tell-all, sources say.

Lauer, 67, who was axed by NBC in 2017 amid shocking sexual misconduct accusations, is in serious talks to pen a scathing memoir that will spill the brutal truth about his explosive exit, insiders confide.

"Matt has been waiting for a break ever since he got fired — but nothing’s come his way and he’s sick and tired of being patient,” an insider shares. “Some folks have had nice words to say about him, and he’s kept a handful of friends in the business — including Don Lemon and Hoda Kotb. But as far as anyone offering him a shot at redemption, that’s just not happened.”

According to the insider, Lauer — who has denied any inappropriate behavior — has had some “promising conversations” with the streaming bosses and podcast owners he’s been schmoozing over lunch when he takes a break from lazing about in New York’s ritzy Hamptons.

But the insider adds, “No deals have materialized, and Matt’s most lucrative option right now is to tell his side of the story.”

The source says Lauer is staying “tight-lipped” about his scheme as he attempts to line up a big-money deal.

“Publishers have shown a keen interest — especially if he’s willing to call people out, which he absolutely is. Love him or hate him, Matt’s seen it all,” says the insider, who predicts, “He’s got so much dirt that will make for compelling reading.”

With countless colleagues allegedly icing him out — including longtime coanchor Katie Couric, who he frequently worked beside from 1997 to 2006 — Lauer has “no reason” to hold back, a longtime pal says.

“He feels betrayed by so many people. These are people he thought were real friends, and the moment he was in trouble they turned their backs completely. To him that’s unforgivable,” the insider says. “He wants revenge, and if he can profit off spilling their secrets, then all the better.

“He’s convinced that no matter how bad his reputation is, there’s still a massive audience hungry to read his version of events. And if the industry won’t give him a shot at redemption, his feeling is he may as well burn it all down with this book. He has nothing to lose — and plenty of money to gain.”

Brooke Nevils, a former NBC producer, says she felt like there was a "target on her back" when she came forward with her allegations of sexual assault against Matt Lauer in 2017.

In her report, she alleged that Lauer, then "Today Show" co-anchor, sexually assaulted her in 2014 at the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Lauer has never been charged with criminal wrongdoing and maintains their relationship was a consensual one.

In her new book "Unspeakable Things," Nevils examines the broader issues of workplace harassment and the challenges of speaking out against a powerful person through interviews with experts and her personal narrative. CNN reached out to Lauer for a response to the book and did not hear back.


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