“The Today Show” abruptly announced that Matt Lauer had been fired for “inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace.” Variety magazine had been working on a story about Matt Lauer’s behavior for months, behavior which was apparently known by many at NBC for more than a decade. Here are some of the rage-inducing details:
As the co-host of NBC’s “Today,” Matt Lauer once gave a colleague a sex toy as a present. It included an explicit note about how he wanted to use it on her, which left her mortified.
On another day, he summoned a different female employee to his office, and then dropped his pants, showing her his penis. After the employee declined to do anything, visibly shaken, he reprimanded her for not engaging in a sexual act.
He used his position and clout at NBC to prey on women looking to grow their own careers, taking advantage of them while traveling for work. And according to the sources who spoke with Vanity, NBC management protected and enabled Lauer at all costs. He even had a special button installed on his desk:
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.
He targeted young female employees traveling with him for work, because of course he did:
According to sources, the sexual harassment extended to when Lauer traveled on assignment for NBC. Several employees recall how he paid intense attention to a young woman on his staff that he found attractive, focusing intently on her career ambitions. And he asked the same producer to his hotel room to deliver him a pillow, according to sources with knowledge of the interaction.
This was part of a pattern. According to multiple accounts, independently corroborated by Variety, Lauer would invite women employed by NBC late at night to his hotel room while covering the Olympics in various cities over the years. He later told colleagues how his wife had accompanied him to the London Olympics because she didn’t trust him to travel alone.
He’ll have plenty of free time to spend with his wife now. If she isn’t already meeting with divorce attorneys.
Who’s next?