“Today” show host Matt Lauer was fired by NBC Wednesday after executives were informed of a "detailed complaint" of "inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace" earlier this week.
In a statement, NBC News Chairman Andy Lack said it was the first allegation brought forth against Lauer but they have reason to believe it was not the only incident.
“On Monday night, we received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace by Matt Lauer,” he said. “It 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 twenty years he's been at NBC News, we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident.”
While details about the incident were not forthcoming from NBC, Page Six is reporting that it had to do with an allegation of sexual harassment against Lauer during the Sochi Olympics.
Matt Lauer allegedly sexually harassed a female NBC staffer during the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014, sources told Page Six.
An NBC insider said Lauer’s alleged victim complained to HR on Monday: “This happened so quickly. She didn’t go to the media, she made a complaint to NBC’s human resources, and her evidence was so compelling that Matt was fired on Tuesday night. The victim says she has evidence that this has also happened to other women, but so far we don’t have evidence of that.”
Sources initially told The Post that Lauer had been accused of sexual assault during the Sochi Olympics, but later said it was inappropriate sexual behavior.
(Page Six)
As a reminder, in 2006 his wife accused him of “cruel and inhumane” treatment in divorce papers.
“The conduct of [Matt] so endangers the physical and mental well-being of [Annette] so as to render it unsafe and improper for plaintiff to cohabit with defendant,” the papers stated.
The filing was withdrawn a month later, however, after a private agreement was reached.
Update: NBC confirms the incident occurred during the Sochi Olympics.
NBC confirms Matt Lauer's firing stemmed from an incident with a network employee at 2014 Sochi Olympics https://t.co/isXGZSp4Da pic.twitter.com/pRfFW8A53M
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) November 29, 2017
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