The Today Show host Matt Lauer reportedly has been fired by NBC after what is being described as inappropriate workplace behavior. The news broke overnight, and Today Show co-hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb addressed the firing at the top of the morning television program.
The news seemed to rock the Today Show staff as they continued with the program. Savannah Guthrie told viewers repeatedly that she was "heartbroken," elaborating:
As I'm sure you can imagine, we are devastated. And we are still processing all of this. I will tell you right now, w 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. And we promise we will share that with you.
Heading into his first weather report of the morning, Al Roker led with:
We're still dealing with the news of a friend who we have known for 30 years, and we're still trying to process it.
The New York Times broke the story overnight, obtaining a memo sent to NBC staff that read, in part:
On Monday night, we received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace by Matt Lauer. [He] 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 20 years he's been at NBC News, we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident.
You can now watch the clip of the opening of this morning's Today Show, where Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb address the situation.
Matt Lauer has been a television journalist since the 1980s, but became a household name as a member of NBC's Today Show lineup, first as a news anchor in 1994 and, later, as the today co-anchor starting in 1998 -- a position he held until this morning.
This is a developing story, and one that seemed to even catch the Today Show off guard. As Savannah Guthrie points out in the above video, the staff basically received the memo before going on the air. We will continue to track the progress of these allegations, and the ramifications they will have on Matt Lauer, NBC, the Today Show and its staff in the coming weeks.
