NBC fires Matt Lauer for alleged 'inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace'
- NBC News fired "TODAY" show's Matt Lauer, the company announced Wednesday.
- "TODAY" show hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb announced Lauer's firing on air.
- President Donald Trump tweeted about the firing moments later, saying "wow."
NBC News fired "TODAY" show host Matt Lauer, the company announced Wednesday.
"TODAY" show hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb made the announcement on air Wednesday morning, saying they learned the news "moments" before.
"As I'm sure you can imagine, we are devastated, and we are still processing," Guthrie said. "I will tell you right now, we do not know more than what I just shared with you. But we will be covering this story as reporters, as journalists. I'm sure we will be learning more details in the hours and days to come."
Later Wednesday, Variety published a report detailing several accusations of alleged sexual harassment from multiple women against Lauer. The magazine said it conducted a two-month investigation that included dozens of interviews with current and former staff.
The New York Times later reported, citing a person familiar with the matter, that NBC on Wednesday received at least two more complaints regarding Lauer. Representatives for Lauer did not immediately respond to the Times' request for comment. NBC did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment regarding the new complaints.
President Donald Trump tweeted about the firing moments after the "TODAY" show's tweet, saying, "Wow."
The announcement came minutes after New York Times media columnist Jim Rutenberg tweeted that Lauer had been fired.
@jimrutenberg: BREAK: NBC Matt Lauer fired, inappropriate workplace behavior .. story to come
After that tweet, Rutenberg cited a memo from NBC News Chairman Andy Lack.
In the memo, later released by NBC News, Lack said, "On Monday night, we received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace by Matt Lauer. It represented, after serious review, a clear violation of our company's standards. As a result, we've decided to terminate his employment."
Lack added that it was the first complaint against Lauer in his more than two decades with the network but there was reason to believe it was not an isolated incident.
Below is Lack's complete statement:
Dear Colleagues,
On Monday night, we received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace by Matt Lauer. It represented, after serious review, a clear violation of our company's standards. As a result, we've decided to terminate his employment. While it is the first complaint about his behavior in the over twenty years he's been at NBC News, we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident.
Our highest priority is to create a workplace environment where everyone feels safe and protected, and to ensure that any actions that run counter to our core values are met with consequences, no matter who the offender.
We are deeply saddened by this turn of events. But we will face it together as a news organization – and do it in as transparent a manner as we can. To that end, Noah and I will be meeting with as many of you as possible throughout the day today to answer your questions.
Andy
Disclosure: NBC and CNBC are owned by Comcast's NBCUniversal unit.
— CNBC's Cathy Campo contributed to this article.