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Another one bites the dust. Harvey Weinstein, Charlie Rose, Kevin Spacey, John Conyers, Louis C.K., Ben Affleck, Mark Halperin, Al Franken, and the list goes on, and is sure to grow…
Matt Lauer was fired from NBC News on Wednesday after an employee filed a complaint about “inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace.”
Savannah Guthrie made the shocking announcement at the top of the “Today” show.
“We are devastated,” Guthrie proclaimed.
According to CNN, a New York Times source said the woman alleged that the inappropriate behavior occurred while Lauer was in Russia covering the Winter Olympics in 2014.
Will Lauer now blame the whole thing on Russia?
US President Trump jumped on the news, with this tweet…
Wow, Matt Lauer was just fired from NBC for “inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace.” But when will the top executives at NBC & Comcast be fired for putting out so much Fake News. Check out Andy Lack’s past!
Wow, Matt Lauer was just fired from NBC for “inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace.” But when will the top executives at NBC & Comcast be fired for putting out so much Fake News. Check out Andy Lack’s past!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 29, 2017
According to the New York Times, a memo from the president of NBC News stated the detailed complaint from the woman was a clear violation of the company’s standards.
“On Monday night, we received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace by Matt Lauer,” Andrew Lack, the NBC News president, said in the memo.
He said the allegation against Mr. Lauer “represented, after serious review, a clear violation of our company’s standards. As a result, we’ve decided to terminate his employment.”
WATCH: Here are TODAY’s headlines on this Wednesday morning pic.twitter.com/opzA3IcYmP
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) November 29, 2017
Matt Lauer, 59, was named a co-anchor of “Today” in January 1997. He co-anchored NBC’s coverage of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and other historic news events.
His contract calls for him to be paid tens of millions a year, and runs through 2018.
The “Today” show is one of the most popular and most profitable franchises on American television. Lauer was the cornerstone of the program for two decades.
So his sudden ouster came as a shock to viewers — but not as a complete surprise to his “Today” show colleagues. They knew that multiple news outlets were investigating Lauer’s off-camera conduct.
One of those outlets, The New York Times, was in touch with an accuser who then met with NBC lawyers and human resources officials on Monday evening.
The accuser’s attorney, Ari Wilkenfeld, said in a statement that he and his client met with representatives from NBC’s human resources and legal department on Monday at 6 p.m.
“Over the course of several hours, my client detailed egregious acts of sexual harassment and misconduct by Mr. Lauer. In fewer than than 35 hours, NBC investigated and removed Mr. Lauer,” Wilkenfeld said. “Our impression at this point is that NBC acted quickly and responsibly, as all companies should when confronted with credible allegations about sexual misconduct in the workplace. It is our hope that NBC will continue to do what it can to repair the damage done to my client—their employee—and any other women who may come forward. While I am impressed by NBC’s response to date, I am awed by the courage my client showed to be the first to raise a complaint and to do so without making any demands other than asking the company do the right thing. This is how the system should work.”
An investigation ensued on Tuesday. A decision was made to terminate his employment on Tuesday evening — a swift turnaround time.
NBC News chairman Andrew Lack, a close friend of Lauer’s, called and talked with him, according to a source with knowledge of the process.
Lack told staffers on Wednesday morning that Lauer was accepting of the decision and expressed remorse, the source said.
The details of the woman’s complaint have not been made public. But Lack said in a memo to staff that “it represented, after serious review, a clear violation of our company’s standards.”
The source said the woman alleged that the inappropriate behavior occurred while Lauer was in Russia covering the Winter Olympics in 2014.
An NBC News spokeswoman declined to comment.
Lack’s memo said it was the first complaint lodged against Lauer in his career at the network. But it also said “we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident.”
Indeed, Lack and other NBC News executives have known for weeks that The Times and Variety magazine were working on investigations into Lauer’s behavior.
Variety’s New York bureau chief Ramin Setoodeh said on Twitter that he and his colleague Elizabeth Wagmeister have been doing reporting “about serious sexual harassment allegations against Lauer” for two months.
“NBC was aware” of the reporting, Wagmeister tweeted. “There are multiple women we’ve spoken to with far-ranging accusations against Lauer. The power of journalism has never been more evident with this cultural change.”
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
