NBC News has just announced that longtime Today anchor Matt Lauer was fired from the network after a detailed complaint surfaced about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace.
NBC News President Andrew Lack released a statement saying “On Monday night, we received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace by Matt Lauer.” Lack said that the violation “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.”
Matt Lauer has been terminated from NBC News. On Monday night, we received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace by Matt Lauer. As a result, we’ve decided to terminate his employment. pic.twitter.com/1A3UAZpvPb
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) November 29, 2017
After news first broke on Wednesday morning, Lauer’s co-host, Savannah Guthrie, said: “we are heartbroken; I’m heartbroken.” Guthrie called her former colleague a “dear friend” and said she was “heartbroken for the brave colleague who came forward to tell her story.”
According to The New York Times, the staff at Today learned of Lauer’s firing shortly before the show went on the air.
Lauer’s dismissal comes less than a week after another major media figure, CBS News’ Charlie Rose, was fired over allegations of sexual harassment by multiple women. Rose was the co-host of CBS This Morning and his own interview show on PBS.
These latest shakeups add to the long list of prominent media figures who have been fired over sexual misconduct, including Fox News’ Roger Ailes and Bill O’Reilly.
The New York Times and Variety had reportedly been investigating allegations against Lauer for weeks, so it is possible NBC fired Lauer to get in front of the story.
Do you think other major media figures will be fired in the coming weeks for sexual harassment? Share your thoughts below!