NBC fired Today show anchor Matt Lauer on Wednesday after a very long meeting with a female that lodged sexual harassment accusations against him. After that, numerous other accusations surfaced.
He remained silent all day, but broke his silence Thursday morning. From CNN:
“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 provided to CNN. “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,” Lauer said.
He continued:
“Repairing the damage will take a lot of time and soul searching and I’m committed to beginning that effort,” Lauer said. “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.”
NBC met with one accuser on Monday for hours with her lawyer. She proceeded to give details what Lauer did to her. The New York Times spoke with the women, but she refused to give details. All we know is that the harassment started at the Sochi Olympics in 2014 and continued after that.
NBC fired him and said they had reason to believe this wasn’t an isolated incident. Gee, could that because HUMAN RESOURCES RECEIVED COMPLAINTS ABOUT HIM BEFORE?!!?
Later in the day, Variety dropped a story with even more details of accusations. These included gifting a sex toy to a colleague and told her graphically how he wanted to use it on her. Another employee said he reprimanded her because she refused to engage in a sex act with him after he dropped his pants. He also had a special lock on his door:
Lauer, who was paranoid about being followed by tabloid reporters, grew more emboldened at 30 Rockefeller Center as his profile rose following Katie Couric’s departure from “Today” in 2006. His office was in a secluded space, and he had a button under his desk that allowed him to lock his door from the inside without getting up. This afforded him the assurance of privacy. It allowed him to welcome female employees and initiate inappropriate contact while knowing nobody could walk in on him, according to two women who were sexually harassed by Lauer.
The New York Times reported this accusation (emphasis mine):
While traveling with Mr. Lauer for a story, she said, he asked her inappropriate questions over dinner, like whether she had ever cheated on her husband. On the way to the airport, she said, Mr. Lauer sat uncomfortably close to her in the car; she recalled that when she moved away, he said, “You’re no fun.”
In 2001, the woman said, Mr. Lauer, who is married, asked her to his office to discuss a story during a workday. When she sat down, she said, he locked the door, which he could do by pressing a button while sitting at his desk. (People who worked at NBC said the button was a regular security measure installed for high-profile employees.)
The woman said Mr. Lauer asked her to unbutton her blouse, which she did. She said the anchor then stepped out from behind his desk, pulled down her pants, bent her over a chair and had intercourse with her. At some point, she said, she passed out with her pants pulled halfway down. She woke up on the floor of his office, and Mr. Lauer had his assistant take her to a nurse.
The woman told The Times that Mr. Lauer never made an advance toward her again and never mentioned what occurred in his office. She said she did not report the episode to NBC at the time because she believed she should have done more to stop Mr. Lauer. She left the network about a year later.
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