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Matt Lauer Fired From NBC News

The Termination Comes Two Weeks After Lauer Protege Matt Zimmerman Receives His Walking Papers

Matt Lauer has been fired from NBC News after an employee filed a complaint about “inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace,” the network announced. Savannah Guthrie made the announcement at the top of the “Today” show this morning, where Lauer has been an anchor for two decades.

NBC News chairman Andrew Lack said in a memo to staff that it was the first complaint lodged against Lauer in his career at the network. But he said “we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident.” The complete memo reads as follows…

“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 event.

Our high priority is to create a workplace 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 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.”

Matt Lauer’s termination comes just one week after CBS News fired one of its own morning anchors, Charlie Rose, after a report in The Washington Post chronicled years of sexual misconduct.

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