Matt Lauer’s former colleagues appeared stunned as they delivered the news on Wednesday, November 29, that he had been fired overnight amid sexual misconduct allegations.
Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb revealed that NBC News chairman Andy Lack sent a memo to staff revealing that Lauer, 59, had been let go from the network after they received a detailed complaint from a colleague about “inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace” by Lauer.
Al Roker, who has worked with Lauer for more than 20 years, looked visibly upset on air. “[I’m] trying to process,” he said.
Guthrie, meanwhile, said that they are heartbroken about the situation. “I’m heartbroken for Matt – he is my dear, dear friend and my partner, and he has been loved by many, many people here. And I’m heartbroken for the brave colleague who came forward to tell her story, and any other women who have their own stories to tell,” she said. “How do you reconcile your love for someone with the revelation that they have behaved badly? I don’t know the answer to that. But I do know 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.”
Kotb added: “It’s hard to reconcile with what we are hearing with the man who we know, who walks in this building every single day. We were both woken up with the news, kind of pre-dawn, and we’re trying to process it and trying to make sense of it – and it’ll take some time for that.”
Lauer joined Today in 1994 and has sat at the main desk with several co-anchors over the years, including Guthrie, Katie Couric, Natalie Morales and Ann Curry.
