Matt Lauer Allegedly Assaulted ‘Today’ Show Staffer In Sochi, Stories Leaking About Multiple Affairs
Today show co-host Matt Lauer is now under a microscope after being fired by NBC for allegedly sexually assaulting a Today employee at the Sochi Olympics back in 2014. In the statement, NBC News president Andrew Lack said they anticipate more complaints as the woman who lodged the Sochi complaint believes that Lauer has assaulted other women.
Additionally, Matt Lauer’s relationship with his wife, Dutch former model Annette Roque, is being examined, along with cheating rumors with colleagues and details of her prior divorce filing citing cruel and inhumane treatment.
Most of Matt Lauer’s Today colleagues seem to be in shock at the timing of the Sochi announcement, but not in disbelief. Savannah Guthrie read a statement from Andrew Lack which hinted at why NBC needed to fire Lauer immediately rather than suspend him pending an investigation. Lack reportedly was tipped off that the New York Times had been investigating Matt Lauer for weeks beyond the Sochi Olympics accusation.
Savannah Guthrie tearily read a statement this morning while holding Hoda Kotb’s hand.
“On Monday night, we received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace by Matt Lauer. 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.”
Matt Lauer Fired After Alleged ‘Inappropriate Sexual Behavior’ at the Sochi Olympics: Source https://t.co/kiVp2EJ08p
— Albert Albs (@albertalbs) November 29, 2017
Page Six said that Andrew Lack made the decision to fire Matt Lauer last night after an accumulation of rumors that other media sources were working on stories about Matt Lauer and sexual misconduct on the job beyond the accusations from the Sochi Olympics.
An NBC source said that the employee who complained about Matt Lauer’s behavior at the Sochi Olympics filed a formal complaint with NBC human resources.
“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 that Matt 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.”
But according to CNN, the woman who has accused Matt Lauer of assaulting her while working at the Sochi Olympics has hired a lawyer, Ari Wilkenfeld, who accompanied her to the NBC human resources department yesterday.
Wilkenfeld issued a statement today on behalf of his unnamed client, saying that this is the way the system should work.
“Over the course of several hours, my client detailed egregious acts of sexual harassment and misconduct by Mr. Lauer. In fewer than 35 hours, NBC investigated and removed Mr. Lauer. Our impression at this point is that NBC acted quickly and responsibly, as all companies should when confronted with credible allegations about sexual misconduct in the workplace.”
WATCH: Al Roker and Matt Lauer crash on luge track at Sochi Olympics http://t.co/jTsv9iDoDY
— NYDN Entertainment (@NYDNEntertain) February 14, 2014
Ramin Setoodeh of Variety told CNN that he and his colleague Elizabeth Wagmeister have been researching allegations about Matt Lauer for at least two months beyond his Sochi accuser, and he says that NBC was aware.
This morning, Wagmeister tweeted that there are still others beyond the woman who accused Matt Lauer of assaulting her at the Sochi Olympics.
“NBC was aware of the reporting. There are multiple women we’ve spoken to with far-ranging accusations against Lauer. The power of journalism has never been more evident with this cultural change.”
The Daily Mail reports that Matt Lauer is a “womanizer” and that rumors about his affairs and ambition to get to the top of his field have dogged him for years.
One of the longest-lived rumors is that Matt Lauer was having an affair with his former Today co-host Natalie Morales, though both Lauer and Morales have denied the claim.
Back in 2006, Annette Roque, the current wife of Matt Lauer, filed for divorce detailing his cruel and inhumane treatment of her, says InTouch Weekly. Roque’s lawyer, Nancy Chemtob, said that she feared for Roque’s well-being as Lauer demonstrated extreme anger toward her on a regular basis.
“The conduct of defendant [Matt] so endangers the physical and mental well-being of the plaintiff [Annette] so as to render it unsafe and improper for plaintiff to cohabit with defendant.”
Chemtob went on to say that Matt Lauer was so controlling that Roque was not allowed to make simple decisions about the three Lauer children or even the day-to-day running of the house. She claimed that Matt Lauer would not even allow Roque to decorate the home without his approval.
Three weeks later, Annette Roque withdrew the paperwork and allowed Matt Lauer to move back into the family home with no further public comment.
