Let’s be honest here. Is anyone really surprised to wake up this morning and find out Matt Lauer was fired by NBC News over sexual misconduct allegations? Didn’t we kind of all know it was coming?
Matt has been an anchor on “Today” since Bryant Gumbel left, meaning it was quite a long time ago. My daughter who is of legal drinking age was one year old. But there have always been rumors about him. And frankly, he always seemed a little smarmy.
His co-anchors Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb announced on the show Wednesday morning that he’d been fired after a complaint about sexual misconduct while on the job.
His fellow employees received a memo just hours ago with Andrew Lack, NBC News Chairman, saying a colleague of Matt’s made a complaint which set off a review over what he said was a “clear violation of our company’s standards.”
However, he said it was the first complaint over Matt in the twenty years he’s been the anchor, and he has “reason to believe,” this wasn’t the first time the newsman engaged in such activity.
“Our highest priority is to create a workplace environment where everyone feels safe and protected and to ensure that any actions that run counter to our core values are met with consequences, no matter who the offender,” said the boss.
Savannah explained she was “heartbroken” for both Matt and the “brave colleague who came forward to tell her story and any other women who have their stories to tell.”
Hoda said after knowing Matt for fifteen years, “It’s hard to reconcile what we are hearing with the man who we know, who walks in this building every single day.”
“How do you reconcile your love for someone with the revelation that they have behaved badly, and I don’t know the answer to that,” Savannah added. “But I do know that this reckoning, that so many organizations 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.”
Amen to that, Sister. I just wish I was surprised. But I’m not. There were rumors just last year that he’d had an affair with Natalie Morales. And I need to preface this by saying affairs do not mean you are committing assault or harassment in the workplace. Nor are all rumors true.
But something about him leads me to not being surprised, and that’s sad. That’s sad when a newsman such as Matt Lauer can’t be trusted.
But after the past few months of allegations, how do we trust anyone? The answer is we can’t, and we shouldn’t. Twelve years of martial arts training taught me to always be aware.
True, I’m still too trusting, and I’ve had my own #MeToo moments, but I’m always aware. And this just shows sometimes those instincts are right.
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