Two new complaints about Matt Lauer emerge after NBC fires ‘Today’ host
NBC has received at least two additional complaints of inappropriate conduct by fired “Today” show host Matt Lauer as of Wednesday.
The New York Times reports that two more women have come forward in the wake of Lauer’s firing, which the network announced Wednesday morning after a complaint was filed against Lauer on Monday.
One of the new allegations comes from a female former NBC employee who alleges that in 2001, Lauer summoned her to his office, locked the door by pressing a button at his desk, and sexually assaulted her. The woman told the Times that she passed out with her pants pulled down, and had to be taken to a nurse after waking up on the floor of Lauer’s office.
The woman told the newspaper that she felt helpless at the time because she was concerned for her career, and didn’t report it because she was ashamed of the encounter. She came forward with the story on Wednesday, after Lauer was fired.
Though the woman did not formally report the incident at the time, she shared details with her then-husband and with a friend, both of whom confirmed the story
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In a memo to staff Wednesday, NBC News chairman Andrew Lack addressed Lauer’s firing and stated that the network had reason to believe that more inappropriate conduct might be uncovered.
“On Monday night, we received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace by Matt Lauer,” Lack said in a memo to the staff. “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.”
Variety reported Wednesday that previous complaints against Lauer were ignored by the network. Women “complained to executives at the network about Lauer’s behavior, which fell on deaf ears given the lucrative advertising surrounding ‘Today,'” the report said.
Lauer, who first joined “Today” in 1994, has yet to comment on his firing, or the mounting allegations against him.
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