Earlier today, “Today” co-hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb announced the firing of former fellow co-host, Matt Lauer for “inappropriate sexual behavior.” At the time, NBC News chairman Andrew Lack revealed that the network had reason to believe the one complaint that led to Lauer’s firing “may not have been an isolated incident.”
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Since then, three anonymous women have accused the veteran anchor of sexual harassment, Variety reports. In one instance, Lauer reportedly gave one of his co-workers a sex toy as a gift with a note, detailing how he would like to use it on her.
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In another incident, Lauer reportedly called another female employee to his office and exposed himself. When the woman refused to accept his sexual advance, he yelled at her.
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According to the publication, he’d also go around the workplace playing “f*ck, marry, kill” and inquire about female producers’ sex partners. The publication gathered evidence of sexual harassment in the workplace at the hands of Lauer over a two-month period, with many women saying they’ve complained to the higher-ups, but nothing was done.
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“There were a lot of consensual relationships, but that’s still a problem because of the power he held,” a former producer said of Lauer’s behavior at work. “He couldn’t sleep around town with celebrities or on the road with random people because he’s Matt Lauer and he’s married. So he’d have to do it within his stable, where he exerted power, and he knew people wouldn’t ever complain.”
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Lauer’s firing came on the heels of the allegations against several power players in the industry, from Harvey Weinstein and Charlie Rose to Kevin Spacey, Louis C.K. and more.
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