Posted on 11/29/2017 5:24:48 AM PST by Dr. Scarpetta
Matt Lauer allegedly sexually assaulted a female NBC staffer during the Rio Olympics, sources told Page Six.
The staffer, who has not been named and wishes to remain anonymous, complained to NBC bosses yesterday, prompting NBC News bosses to move fast and fire him.
A source told Page Six, “An NBC staffer come forward with a claim that Matt sexually assaulted her at the Olympics.
There have been rumors about Matt having affairs with subordinates at NBC for years, but those were believed to be consensual. This incident in Rio was not.”
Another source tells us that the decision to fire Lauer was made late last night by NBC News chairman Andy Lack.
Lauer’s firing comes amid rumors that numerous news outlets were working on stories about the Today anchor alleged sexual misconduct.
(Excerpt) Read more at pagesix.com ...
I thought of that as well. With Charlie Rose and now Matt Lauer, they were fired very quickly, there was not time to complete an investigation. Both Rose and Lauer are high profile people with great legal representation. I don’t think it likely the broadcasters would take action without proof.
The human resources department at both CBS and NBC must have been sitting on some very damaging files full of complaints against these men.
Lauer’s serial philandering is one of the worst-kept secrets in media circles. As a horndog, he is in the Clinton class, with a list of extra-marital affairs and hook-ups that would make ol’ Bill green with envy.
Lauer’s first wife divorced him in the early 90s for cheating on her repeatedly. After being dumped as a talk show host at WWOR-TV, he got another shot in New York, this time as morning news reader at WNBC-TV. His ratings performance at Channel 4 got him the job on Today, anchoring the newscasts and eventually, replacing then-host Bryant Gumbel.
Even in the early days—when you’d think Lauer would be on his best behavior—there were all sorts of rumors and tabloid reports on his behavior. He was named in the divorce of a Florida woman; Lauer claimed he was flying to Florida every weekend to visit his ailing father, but actually, he was carrying on an affair with a married woman. NBC—realizing that Lauer was ratings gold—buried these reports, and the rest of the MSM went along, covering for one of their own. Interestingly, one of the executives who went to bat for Lauer was Andy Lack, the same guy who finally canned him last night.
Lauer eventually married again (to a Dutch supermodel), but she filed for divorce in 2006, accusing him of cruel and inhumane treatment. They reconciled a few months later; apparently his huge paychecks—which eventually reached $25 million a year—were enough to keep her in the marriage. Meanwhile, Lauer continued to cut a wide swath through the female population. There were reports of an affair with Natalie Morales, an NBC colleague, and rumors of many more trysts, some of those with network staffers as well.
How did he get by with it for such a Weinstein-like eternity? Viewers (for reasons I cannot fathom) liked Lauer and made the Today Show #1 in its timeslot for a decade, generating somewhere between $3 and $5 billion in profits for NBC. Today was, by far, the most profitable program on the network schedule and the suits were more than willing to look the other way—and pay Lauer a king’s ransom for his services.
Since 2012, Today has generally trailed Good Morning America in the ratings, and Lauer’s value to the network has declined. When allegations of sexual assault against Lauer surfaced on Monday, NBC had to investigate them and it wasn’t hard to confirm them. In fact, it’s almost a sure bet that more victims will come forward (given Lauer’s history) and the network decided to cut him loose before the inevitable drip..drip..drip of new complaints begins.
But don’t discount the possibility that NBC sees a silver lining in this mess, namely, the chance to get rid of an over-priced anchor and save more than $20 million a year. They know they can achieve similar ratings with lower-paid talent.
Don't want to sound like a prig, but what's amusing about their coverage of a story about an alleged sexual assault?
They said one week ago on the radio that Matt Lauer would be fired & today they are taking credit for their reporting. They don’t like Lauer & think he’s been protected by top executives for years.
Wow, they said that a week ago? And I’ll agree about the protection. Heads oughta roll at NBC if they’ve been protecting and enabling predators.
Bernie & Sid radio show: WABC 77 in NYC.
Bernard McGuirk was a contributor on O’Reilly.
Liberals true colors are showing a huge wake up call for some on the left
Me too! Especially when I'm forced to endure ESPN announcers in order to watch a game.
(Thanks for the 'Bell-Cow' info!)
I agree with you completely. Sochi Olympics was years ago. Where does this end?
Women right now have quite a bit of power. Just saying.
Matt Lauer will soon be hired by MSNBC and will work with Brian Williams.
I think they are setting the stage to destroy Judge Moore after he wins the election.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.