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As more details emerge of his alleged sexual misconduct, Matt Lauer has issued an apology after his jolting exit from NBC’s “Today Show.”
“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 read on-air by his former “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie. “To people I have hurt, I am truly sorry.”
Lauer also noted that “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,” he said. “Repairing the damage will take a lot of time and soul searching, and I’m committed to beginning that effort. It is now my full-time job.”
Lauer, according to an extensive report by Variety, had been using his power in order to abuse women for years.
The report alleges that Lauer had at one time given a colleague a sex toy as a present and written a lewd note with it saying that he wanted to use the toy on her.
At a different time, according to the report, Lauer dropped his pants after summoning a female colleague to his office and showed her his penis.
Two more accusers have since come forward against Lauer, with one accusing her of sexual assault. That accuser claimed that, in 2001, Lauer called her to his office to discuss a story with her and then locked the door using a button on his desk.
The accuser, speaking to the New York Times, claimed that she passed out when he sexually assaulted her and that when she woke up on the floor, she had to be taken to a nurse.
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