Washington: Coming on the heels of Matt Lauer’s firing, a new report has surfaced which details allegations of sexual harassment against the former Today anchor by three former colleagues.
According to a report in Variety, the alleged victims detailed a pattern of behavior that was inappropriate and abusive.
They have been asked for now to remain unnamed, fearing professional repercussions.
As the co-host of NBC’s Today, Lauer once gave a colleague a sex toy as a present. It included an explicit note about how he wanted to use it on her, which left her mortified.
On another day, he summoned a different female employee to his office, and then dropped his pants, showing her his penis. After the employee declined to do anything, visibly shaken, he reprimanded her for not engaging in a sexual act.
Lauer was fired from NBC, after a woman lodged a complaint of “inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace” against him.
In a statement, NBC News Chairman Andy Lack called this the first complaint about his behavior in over 20 years and acknowledged that it may not be the last.
Lauer had worked on the network’s Today for more than two decades and on Wednesday was replaced in his usual chair by last-minute addition Hoda Kotb, who sat beside Lauer’s former co-anchor Savannah Guthrie. (ANI)