Matt Lauer sexual misconduct allegations

Matt Lauer on the set of the Today show.

Matt Lauer was fired from his position as the co-host of the Today show by NBC News on November 29, 2017, after network executives met a few days earlier with an unidentified woman who described his inappropriate interactions with her. NBC News chairman Andrew Lack said they were "presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident." A few days later, two more complaints surfaced, one of which came from an unnamed former employee who gave her account of the incident to The New York Times. The report said Lauer "summoned her to his office in 2001, locked the door and sexually assaulted her". The day after Lauer's firing, his public relations team issued a message that he wrote expressing his sorrow, shame and regret. After Lauer's firing was made public, information surfaced that Variety had been investigating sexual misconduct allegations against Lauer for two months.

Background

On Monday, November 27, 2017, an unnamed female NBC employee complained to the network's human resources department. She alleged that Lauer had sexually harassed her during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and that the harassment continued after they returned to New York.

On Wednesday, two more complaints surfaced. One by a former employee who told The New York Times about an incident that happened in 2001. She was in her early 40s at the time and had told her then husband what happened. She had also told a friend about the incident 5 years ago. She claimed to have evidence proving she was not the only victim. She began working for NBC in the late 1990s as a producer for the Today show, which she alleges is when Lauer first started making inappropriate comments. She said Lauer summoned her to his office, and used a button under his desk to lock the door, then "asked her to unbutton her blouse, which she did, then pulled down her pants, bent her over a chair, and assaulted her. She said she eventually passed out, woke up on the floor of Lauer's office, and was taken to a nurse by Lauer's assistant." After the incident, she said Lauer neither spoke of it nor made any advances toward her. She left NBC a year or so later. Her reason for waiting so long to report the assault was that she "felt helpless and ashamed", was fearful of losing her job, and thought "she could have done more to stop Lauer."

Two month investigation

Elizabeth Wagmeister, a reporter with Variety, tweeted that for two months prior to Lauer's firing she had been investigating "serious sexual harassment allegations against Lauer". The investigation produced "dozens of interviews" with anonymous staffers, one of whom alleged that Lauer "once gave a colleague a sex toy with an explicit note about how he wanted to use it on her." There are also allegations of indecent exposure and other sexually explicit behavior.

The Variety investigation included several versions of Lauer's sexual misconduct reported by "current and former NBC News staffers as well as three women who identified themselves as victims of sexual harassment by the anchor". Interviews revealed that Lauer "was known around the NBC newsroom for being preoccupied with sexual topics", made lewd comments about wanting to have sex with female co-hosts, and that he had been "engaging in crude and cruel behavior toward subordinates over a period of years."

NBC investigation

NBC News executives were aware that there were two news sources that had been investigating Lauer's sexual misconduct weeks before allegations were made by the first female employee. They launched an investigation of their own and were unable to find any prior sexual misconduct complaints or settlements that were made on behalf of Lauer. NBC News president Noah Oppenheim and chairman Andy Lack questioned Lauer directly about his sexual misconduct, and he denied it. After the firing, a network executive said Lauer would not receive any form of monetary settlement because he was fired “for cause”. His now terminated $25-million-a-year contract was supposed to run through the end of 2018.

Today show announcement

On November 29, 2017 Lauer's colleagues, Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb, reported his firing on NBC's Today show. Guthrie said she was "heartbroken for her colleague who came forward to tell her story", and while appearing to fight back tears, called Lauer her "friend who is beloved by many at NBC."

The announcement was made on the day Lauer was supposed to co-host the NBC special, "Christmas in Rockefeller Center", which features the annual tree-lighting ceremony in Manhattan with Al Roker, Kotb and Guthrie.

Lauer response

Lauer's personal publicist released his statement which was incorporated into the November 29, 2017 Today show broadcast:

“There are no words to express my sorrow and regret for the pain I have caused others by words and actions. 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. 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.”

Reaction

NBC was praised by Ari Wilkenfeld, attorney for the first accuser to come forward, for their quick response to Lauer's "egregious acts of sexual harassment and misconduct."

In Andrew Lack's memo about the firing, he said, "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."

Media sources brought attention to old Today segments where Lauer engaged in questionable behavior towards women. Of particular note was a 2012 interview with actress Anne Hathaway where he asks her repeatedly about upskirt photographs of her that had recently surfaced in the tabloids and a 2009 interview with actress Sandra Bullock where he keeps bringing up a nude scene in her upcoming film The Proposal throughout the course of the interview; in both interviews Lauer's questions make the actresses visibly uncomfortable. The Daily Beast brought up a 2014 interview with General Motors CEO Mary Barra in which Lauer asked her a series of questions that were criticized as being sexist in nature and his 2016 interview with presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in which he was criticized for giving her what was perceived as significantly tougher scrutiny than he gave her opponent Donald Trump. Attention was also brought to a 2012 sketch about sexual harassment in which Lauer played the victim and a 2012 interview former Today co-host Katie Couric gave to Andy Cohen in which she claimed that Lauer's most annoying habit was the way "he pinches me on the ass a lot". TMZ published an October 2006 video in which Lauer told then co-host Meredith Vieira to "Keep bending over like that, it's a nice view" while she picked up a script during a commercial break.

Megyn Kelly, an outspoken advocate against sexual harassment, said "What we don't see is the pain on the faces of those who found the courage to come forward, and it is still a terrifying thing to do."

References

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