Matt Lauer allegedly sexually harassed a female NBC colleague during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, multiple sources claimed to Page Six.
Shortly after NBC News announced on Wednesday, November 29, that the Today show veteran was fired overnight over a sexual misconduct complaint, the New York Post column reported that his alleged victim spoke with the network’s human resources department on Monday, November 27.
“This happened so quickly,” one NBC insider told Page Six. “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.”
Page Six originally reported that Lauer had been accused of “sexual assault,” but later updated its story to read “inappropriate sexual behavior” and “harassment.”
Lauer’s Today cohosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb were the first to publicly announce his termination. A visibly emotional Guthrie, 45, opened the morning show on Wednesday by reading an email from NBC News chairman Andy Lack, in which he said the network “received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace by Matt Lauer. … 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.”
Megyn Kelly also reacted to the news at the top of Megyn Kelly Today on Wednesday. “This one does hit close to home,” she said. “I, too, have known Matt for a long time. He has been a friend, and kind and supportive to me and my transition to NBC News. I see the anguish on my colleagues’ faces. But when this happens, what we don’t see is the pain on the faces of those who’ve found the courage to come forward. And that is a terrifying thing to do.”
Lauer, 59, has yet to publicly respond to the allegations.
