If you are a user of the internet, or you are a watcher of television, you will know that
Matt Lauer has lost his job on The Today Show after allegations surrounding his sexual harassment of several women came to light.
According to an investigation conducted by Variety magazine, Lauer was accused of multiple acts of sexual harassment and sexually inappropriate behaviour. The accusations aimed at the veteran news anchor range from claims that he "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," with another accusation saying that "he invited a female employee to his office, and dropped his pants."
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A day after the claims were made, Lauer spoke out about the issue. Releasing a statement which was read on Today
, Lauer wrote:
"There are no words to express my sorrow and regret for the pain I have caused others by words and actions. To the people I have hurt, I am truly sorry. As I am writing this I realize the depth of the damage and disappointment I have left behind at home and at NBC."
"Some of what is being said about me is untrue or mischaracterized, but there is enough truth in these stories to make me feel embarrassed and ashamed. I regret that my shame is now shared by the people I cherish dearly."
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"Repairing the damage will take a lot of time and soul searching and I'm committed to beginning that effort. It is now my full-time job. The last two days have forced me to take a very hard look at my own troubling flaws. It's been humbling. I am blessed to be surrounded by the people I love. I thank them for their patience and grace."
However, as is the case with the
Harvey Weinstein and
Kevin Spacey scandals, it appears that those involved in the show business world were aware of Matt Lauer's behaviour before the stories hit the press.
In 2014, it appears that Conan O'Brien had tried to warn us about Lauer's behaviour when Lauer was reporting the Sochi Winter Olympics.
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O'Brien ran a segment on his show that was literally titled "Creepy Matt Lauer" in which he played a video of Lauer being a huge creep towards the U.S Olympic skier Mikaela Shiffrin, who was just 18 years-old at the time.
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I can imagine when this aired it was a pretty uncomfortable watch, but given what we know now, it almost pain-inducingly cringe-worthy. Even worse, during his coverage of the 2014 Sochi Olympics, it's alleged that Lauer assaulted a female NBC staffer, who reported the incident this past Monday, leading to Lauer's termination from NBC.
No doubt more stories regarding Lauer's behaviour will emerge in light of the current allegations. We can expect him to disappear from our screen for the near future while he gets over his problems in a swanky clinic somewhere exotic.
