BLOGNovember 30, 2017

Matt Lauer’s Behavior at NBC Was Reportedly an Open Secret

What happened?

Variety published a disturbing report Thursday about the allegations against longtime news anchor Matt Lauer, who was abruptly fired on Wednesday. His NBC office reportedly had a button under the desk that could lock his door from the inside without Lauer getting up – a feature he allegedly used to trap co-workers.

Did Variety have more details?

Yep, a lot of them. Women have come forward to describe how Lauer exposed himself to them, continually made lewd comments about their sex lives and made the office a terrible place to work. He once gave a sex toy to a co-worker as a gift along with an explicit note about how he wanted to use it on her.

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Variety reported:

He once made a suggestive reference to a colleague’s performance in bed and compared it to how she was able to complete her job, according to witnesses to the exchange. For Lauer, work and sex were intertwined.

Glenn’s take:

“Like Weinstein in Hollywood, this wasn’t a secret at NBC,” Glenn noted. He wondered how many more abusers will (rightfully) be exposed. “It’s time we hold accountable those who have engaged in this kind of behavior,” he said.

This article provided courtesy of TheBlaze.

GLENN: The Matt Lauer fallout continues. In a statement released just a couple hours ago Lauer said quote:

“There are no words to express my sorrow and regret for the pain I have caused others by words and actions. To the people I have hurt, I am truly sorry. As I am writing this I realize the depth of the damage and disappointment I have left behind at home and at NBC. Some of what is being said about me is untrue or mischaracterized, but there is enough truth in these stories to make me feel embarrassed and ashamed.”

Details are beginning to emerge on Lauer’s behavior. A Variety story published yesterday disclosed years of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior. There were quote “dozens” of people that came forward to corroborate Lauer’s actions. Similar to how all of Hollywood knew about and was complicit in Weinstein's rain of terror, can we not say the same thing about the brass at NBC? NBC News chairman Andy Lack stated that Monday night was the first time they had ever heard about Lauer’s behavior. Are we seriously supposed to buy that?

According to Variety, Matt Lauer had multiple consensual relationships with women he held power over, sent a sex toy to a female colleague, exposed himself to employees, and reprimanded a subordinate for not engaging in a sexual act with him IN HIS OFFICE. Like Weinstein in Hollywood, this wasn’t a secret at NBC. It sounds like nearly all of 30 Rockefeller Plaza had heard this was going on.

There’s obviously an epidemic of perverts in our society, but it’s time we hold accountable those that have enabled this type of behavior with their silence. Evil triumphs when good people say and do nothing. If you’re an executive or manager that knew all this was going and turned a blind eye, you carry guilt right alongside Lauer.