NBC News has fired long-time Today show host Matt Lauer for “inappropriate sexual behaviour”, making him the second morning television show personality to lose his job because of sexual misconduct charges in a week.
Lauer’s co-host Savannah Guthrie made the announcement at the start of yesterday’s show.
Last week, CBS News fired Charlie Rose after complaints from several women who worked for him.
NBC News chairman Andrew Lack said the network had received a complaint from a colleague on Monday night and a review determined it was a clear violation of company standards.
While it was the first complaint lodged against Lauer, Lack said in a memo to staff that “we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident”.
The 59-year-old has hosted Today for two decades.
When paired with Katie Couric, Today was the long-time ratings leader and was highly lucrative for NBC.
It now runs second in the ratings to ABC’s Good Morning America.
Guthrie co-hosted Wednesday’s show with Hoda Kotb.
She appeared to fight back tears as she called Lauer her friend who is beloved by many at NBC and said she was “heartbroken for my colleague who came forward to tell her story and any other women who have their own stories to tell”.
She added: “We are grappling with a dilemma that so many people have faced these past few weeks.
“How do you reconcile your love for someone with the revelation that they have behaved badly? I don’t know the answer to that.
“I do know that this reckoning that so many organisations have been going through is important, it’s long overdue and it must result in workplaces where all women, all people, feel safe and respected.”
On Twitter, President Donald Trump said “Wow, Matt Lauer was just fired from NBC for ‘inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace’. But when will the top executives at NBC & Comcast be fired for putting out so much Fake News”.
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