{"id":135129,"date":"2017-11-30T01:45:09","date_gmt":"2017-11-30T06:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=135129"},"modified":"2017-11-30T01:45:09","modified_gmt":"2017-11-30T06:45:09","slug":"matt-lauer-is-fired-at-nbc-accused-of-crude-misconduct","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2017\/11\/30\/matt-lauer-is-fired-at-nbc-accused-of-crude-misconduct\/","title":{"rendered":"Matt Lauer is fired at NBC, accused of crude misconduct"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\u201cToday\u201d<\/a>
\u201cToday\u201d show host Matt Lauer was fired for what NBC on Wednesday called \u201cinappropriate sexual behaviour\u201d with a colleague and was promptly confronted with a published report accusing him of crude and habitual misconduct with other women around the office. (Photo By David Shankbone – Own work, CC BY 3.0<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NEW YORK \u2014 \u201cToday\u201d show host Matt Lauer was fired for what NBC on Wednesday called \u201cinappropriate sexual behaviour\u201d with a colleague and was promptly confronted with a published report accusing him of crude and habitual misconduct with other women around the office.<\/p>\n

With his easygoing charm, Lauer has long been a lucrative and highly visible part of NBC News and one of the highest-paid figures in the industry, and his downfall shook the network and stunned many of the roughly 4 million viewers who start their day with him.<\/p>\n

He is easily one of the biggest names brought down in recent weeks by the wave of sexual misconduct allegations that have swept through Hollywood, the media and politics.<\/p>\n

Network news chief Andrew Lack said in a memo to the staff that NBC received a complaint about Lauer’s behaviour on Monday and determined he violated company standards. NBC said the misconduct started when Lauer and a network employee were at the Sochi Olympics in 2014 and continued beyond that assignment.<\/p>\n

Lack said it was the first complaint lodged against Lauer in his 20 years at NBC, but \u201cwe were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident.\u201d<\/p>\n

NBC News received two new complaints against Lauer on Wednesday, \u201cNBC Nightly News\u201d reported. The network didn’t respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

Earlier Wednesday, it was left to Lauer’s shaken \u201cToday\u201d colleagues, Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb, to break the news to viewers at the top of the morning’s show.<\/p>\n

Word of Lauer’s abrupt exit came on the day of NBC’s \u201cChristmas in Rockefeller Center\u201d special featuring the annual Manhattan tree-lighting ceremony. Lauer was to have co-hosted the Wednesday night program with Guthrie, Kotb and Al Roker.<\/p>\n

Hours after the firing, the trade publication Variety posted what it said was a two-month investigation that included dozens of interviews with current and former staffers who asked to remain anonymous.<\/p>\n

Among other things, Variety reported allegations that Lauer once gave a colleague a sex toy with an explicit note about how he wanted to use it on her; that he exposed himself to another female co-worker; that he would question female producers about their sex lives; and that he would talk about which co-hosts he would like to sleep with.<\/p>\n

Messages to Lauer and his agent were not immediately returned, and NBC would not say whether he denied or admitted to any wrongdoing. He is married with three children.<\/p>\n

Lauer becomes the second morning host in a week to lose his job over sexual misconduct allegations. CBS fired Charlie Rose after several women who worked for him complained about his behaviour.<\/p>\n

In other developments, former \u201cPrairie Home Companion\u201d host Garrison Keillor was cut loose by Minnesota Public Radio over an allegation of \u201cinappropriate behaviour.\u201d MPR gave no details, but the 75-year-old Keillor said he inadvertently put his hand on a woman’s bare back in an attempt to console her.<\/p>\n

Lauer, 59, has essentially been the king of television morning news since first being paired with Katie Couric on \u201cToday\u201d in 1997.<\/p>\n

For many years, \u201cToday\u201d was the unquestioned ratings leader, until it was eclipsed by ABC’s \u201cGood Morning America\u201d following the ugly 2012 firing of Lauer’s co-host Ann Curry. The show had stabilized in recent years with Lauer’s pairing with Guthrie.<\/p>\n

Lauer’s \u201cWhere in the world is Matt Lauer?\u201d segments were popular for years, and he regularly played a lead role at the Olympics and other major news events.<\/p>\n

He joins a lengthening list of media figures felled by sexual misconduct accusations this year. Besides Rose, they include Lauer’s NBC News colleague Mark Halperin, Fox News prime-time host Bill O’Reilly and National Public Radio newsroom chief Michael Oreskes. The New York Times suspended White House correspondent Glenn Thrush last week.<\/p>\n

The flood of allegations was set off in large part by the downfall of Hollywood studio boss Harvey Weinstein, who has been accused of sexually assaulting or harassing numerous women.<\/p>\n

Ari Wilkenfeld, the attorney for Lauer’s accuser, praised NBC for acting \u201cquickly and responsibly\u201d in response to the morning host’s \u201cegregious acts of sexual harassment and misconduct.\u201d The lawyer did not identify his client.<\/p>\n

Lack, in his memo, said, \u201cWe are deeply saddened by this turn of events. But we will face it together as a news organization \u2014 and do it in as transparent a manner as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

An immediate challenge is filling a giant hole on a show that has long been the most lucrative for NBC News. One potential replacement, Willie Geist, on Wednesday called Lauer someone \u201cI have always looked up to in the business, and he taught me a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for Keillor, Minnesota Public Radio said it will end distribution of the radio program \u201cThe Writer’s Almanac,\u201d Keillor’s daily reading of a poem and telling of literary events, and end rebroadcasts of old \u201cPrairie Home Companion\u201d episodes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI meant to pat her back after she told me about her unhappiness and her shirt was open and my hand went up it about six inches. She recoiled. I apologized. I sent her an email of apology later and she replied that she had forgiven me and not to think about it,\u201d Keillor said in an email to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. \u201cWe were friends. We continued to be friendly right up until her lawyer called.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Wednesday’s show, Guthrie appeared to fight back tears as she called Lauer her friend who is beloved by many at NBC. She said she was \u201cheartbroken for my colleague who came forward to tell her story and any other women who have their own stories to tell.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you reconcile your love for someone with the revelation that they have behaved badly? I don’t know the answer to that,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I do know that this reckoning that so many organizations have been going through is important, it’s long overdue, and it must result in workplaces where all women, all people, feel safe and respected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later in the show, NBC’s Megyn Kelly, who has written about being sexually harassed by former boss Roger Ailes at Fox News Channel, noted the anguish on the faces of her colleagues but said, \u201cWhat 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Twitter, President Donald Trump said, \u201cWow, Matt Lauer was just fired from NBC for ‘inappropriate sexual behaviour in the workplace.’ But when will the top executives at NBC & Comcast be fired for putting out so much Fake News.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump also alluded to potential misconduct by three other NBC News figures, while offering no details.<\/p>\n

Natalie Morales, a former \u201cToday\u201d show colleague who left the show for \u201cAccess Hollywood\u201d last year, said she was in shock about the story. She referred to stories that said she and Lauer had an affair, which they both denied.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have personally dealt with rumours in the past few years that were hurtful to me and to my family,\u201d she said. \u201cThey diminished my hard work. I’ve addressed these rumours head-on in the past. It’s not the story today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another former \u201cToday\u201d host, Deborah Norville, said she was stunned by the news.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a journalist, it’s upsetting to see another from our ranks caught up in these kinds of scandals. But as we’ve seen, no profession is immune,\u201d she said. \u201cSadly, I doubt if anyone will be surprised if there are similar headlines to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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