This morning, viewers who tuned in to NBC were shocked to learn that Matt Lauer, a part of NBC's Today show for over two decades, had been fired for 'inappropriate sexual behavior."
Today show announced the news with a tearful message on-air and via their Twitter feed
NBC News Chairman Andrew Lack issued a memo to staffers which indicated the network had “received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace by Matt Lauer. It represented, after serious review, a clear violation of our company’s standards.
As a result, we’ve 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.”
The Today show announced the news with a tearful message on-air and via their Twitter feed:
NBC wouldn't boot someone as big as Lauer if they weren't 100% convinced the stories were accurate
According to multiple sources, both the New York Times and Variety had been working - for months - on stories regarding Lauer's alleged misconduct. NBC News was aware of these pieces, and there are "multiple victims."
Lauer was told he was out sometime last night.
Regardless of how this all went down, you can bet that NBC wouldn't boot someone as big as Lauer if they weren't 100% convinced the stories were accurate.
Whatever we may think of his skills as a "journalist," he's a big name, garnered big ratings, and represents a large investment for the network.
More as it develops.
The Variety story had been in the works for 2 months. And NBC News management knew about both the NYT and Variety investigations. https://t.co/QXJR9WbYqS