Wednesday, November 29, 2017

The Sexual Harassment Apocalypse: The Shock At 30 Rock

NBC has fired its leading morning news anchor Matt Lauer over a sexual harassment allegation, the network’s president for news said in a memo to staff on Wednesday.
Matt Lauer allegedly sexually assaulted a female NBC staffer during the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014.
An NBC insider said Lauer’s alleged victim complained to HR on Monday: “This happened so quickly. She didn’t go to the media, she made a complaint to NBC’s human resources, and her evidence was so compelling Lauer was fired on Tuesday night. The victim says she has evidence that this has also happened to other women, but so far we don’t have evidence of that.”
Another source revealed the decision to fire Lauer was made late Tuesday night by NBC News chairman Andy Lack.
Lauer’s firing comes amid rumors that several news outlets were working on stories about his alleged sexual misconduct.
Reporters for the New York Times had been investigating Lauer for several weeks, according to sources who had been contacted by the paper.
In a published report from Closer Weekly on November 21, Lauer had decided to leave Today when his estimated $25 million-a-year contract expired in 2018.  Citing his ongoing rivalry with Megyn Kelly and his desire to see more of his family his “heart just wasn’t in the job this past year.”
Lauer is 59.  His children are aged 16, 14 and 10.  He wanted to see more of his family?  I’m pretty sure his wife Annette doesn’t want to see him ever again.

UPDATE 11-29-17 4:11 PM:  The in-depth investigation promised earlier this morning from Variety has been published revealing the results of a two-month investigation with dozens of interviews with current and former staffers.
The New York Times exposé, also promised this morning, can be found here.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Please scribble on my walls otherwise how will I know what you think, but please don’t try spamming me or you’ll earn a quick trip to the spam filter where you will remain—cold, frightened and all alone.