Matt Lauer gets the axe from NBC over sexual misconduct allegation
NBC News president Andrew Lack announced the shocking decision Wednesday morning
NBC News president Andrew Lack announced the shocking decision Wednesday morning
NBC has fired morning news anchor Matt Lauer over a sexual misconduct allegation.
“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 a memo to staff on Wednesday.
Lack added that the allegation “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 20 years he’s been at NBC News, we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident,” the memo stated.
The “Today” show staff were told about the firing just before going live and were visibly trying to come to terms with it.
“All we can say is we are heartbroken; I’m heartbroken,” co-host Savannah Guthrie said, looking visibly emotional.
While she called Lauer a “dear, dear friend,” she also said that she was “heartbroken for the brave colleague who came forward to tell her story.”
“How do you reconcile your love for someone with the revelation that they have behaved badly?” she asked.
And during the weather report, Al Roker looked visibly shaken, saying, “I’m still trying to process the news.”
President Donald Trump saw used the news as an opportunity to blast NBC News, tweeting: “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.”
