Say it ain’t so. Now Matt Lauer

[Hikergirl]

http://money.cnn.com/2017/11/29/media/matt-lauer/index.html

So is this another case of everyone knew what was going on but if nobody complained they would just keep quiet?
He was being "investigated" by the NYT so this was about to go public and maybe they fired him for that, not because they really cared about his alleged behavior?
I bet we see alot more "surprises" in the future.

 

[Minnesota!]

I stopped watching Today because I just don't care for Matt. He is so fake. I love Willie, though...so, I am glad to see Matt go and hope Willie will be his replacement!

 

[Mattimation]

Not at all surprised he got fired for being a creep, but I'm very surprised at how sudden it is - no paid leave or sabbatical during an investigation, just immediate severance. It's good to see NBC is taking these allegations so seriously, and make me think there have to have been more over the years or this allegation is more serious than they're letting on and came with undeniable evidence.

I'll be very interested to see who comes in to replace him, and I hope the women who have been fired or relocated due to this man's ego (Natalie Morales and Ann Curry) are welcomed back or somehow vindicated by the show. I think Willie Geist is the obvious choice - he's far more charismatic than Lauer was and has a lot of experience - but I wonder if they'll find someone from outside. I think they were considering replacing Lauer with Anderson Cooper a few years ago, but didn't because of his poor talk show ratings. Now that Megyn Kelly's show is circling the drain though, I don't think they can really say Anderson's appeal is an issue.

 

[L&Lfan]

Megyn Kelly might work in a hard news format....that's where she made her name and had fabulous (for cable news) ratings. The other current hosts could do the fluff.

 

[Mizzoufan]

I hope Carson doesn't move up I cant seem him doing tough interviews. He's fine with fluff stories.

 

[anniemae]

My thoughts:

I don't watch Today Show anymore. I stopped when Ann Curry left. I adored her. When I heard Matt was behind it, I was disgusted. You could see her seething anger at him in her final "goodbye" to everyone when they were sitting on the couch. She couldn't even look at him. Right there was when I believed he was a jerk.

I had heard rumors of him cheating on his wife, and how he was with Natalie Morales romantically.

seems like it was very swift, you could tell everyone was shocked and reeling. I wonder if we will find out what happened, they said it was a coworker who come forward.

 

[pigletto]

Not only did they say it was a coworker, but that it was a pattern of behaviour. I’m not buying the shock that the other hosts are selling. I can see them being shocked that he was fired so quickly, but there’s been more than enough rumbling about Matt Lauer over the years that some of it had to be warranted.
I doubt this was an out of the blue decision, but rather a decision to act quickly and decisively because NBC’s back was against a wall. They know that proof is coming and they don’t want to look complicit. Sadly, I am sure they were. We’re just now emerging from a culture of “not my problem” and “Don’t ask, don’t tell”.

ETA) I also love the Today show and have been a regular watcher for years, despite never being a Matt fan. I find him smug, disingenuous, and arrogant. Interesting to see how many people felt the same way, yet he brought in huge ratings and held the top spot for years and years. I bet many people aren’t sad to see him gone, but it sure says something about the behaviour and personalities that we reward and hold in high regard doesn’t it?
Willie seems to be a decent and likeable guy. I would love to see him take the spot with Savannah.

 

[msjprincess]

Ann Curry must be having a nice morning........

What scares me is, will Megan Kelly be his replacement??

Hoping they move Carson Daly up.

Blech. Anyone but Megyn Kelly.

 

[Elleshoodat]

I'd heard the rumors as well so wasn't shocked about the allegations, more about the swift action the network took to remove him.

Yes. My husband and the millions upon millions of men who are good and decent and KNOW better than to harass any woman.

Not to go too far off-topic, but my husband well knows not to harass women; however, I do worry about him (and my sons) being accused of something like this. In today's world, even if these men are innocent, many are being convicted in the court of public opinion.

 

[RangerPooh]

I'm not surprised by the news. From his reported fling with Natalie to his hatred of Anne, and cheating on his ex wife. I have never really cared for him. I do hope that his replacement is Willie. Although they do have other male hosts on NBC such as Lester Holt that wouldn't be a bad choice.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Remember, "innocent until proven guilty" is how our justice system works. A company can fire anyone at any time for any reason.

 

[elgerber]

I also hope Willie gets his job, but I fear this may be NBCs opening to torpedo Megyns garbage show at 9am, without admitting they made a huge mistake putting her there.

 

[lorimay]

TMZ reporting the alleged incident happened at The Sochi Olympics.
They also have a clip where Katie Couric says(while playing a game with Andy on Watch what Happens Live) he had a bad habit of pinching her on the .......

 

[cabanafrau]

I'd heard the rumors as well so wasn't shocked about the allegations, more about the swift action the network took to remove him.



Not to go too far off-topic, but my husband well knows not to harass women; however, I do worry about him (and my sons) being accused of something like this. In today's world, even if these men are innocent, many are being convicted in the court of public opinion.

It is kind of surprising, particularly with all that's been going on lately, that the first public hint of allegations comes after the firing. I wonder if the Times will now get to be the first with the story of the allegations, or will it get leaked now that NBC made this move?

 

[Mizzoufan]

If I had got to choose my dream team for Today it would Lester and Hoda. Brian Williams back the evening news and Jenna with Kathie Lee. Savannah who cares.

 

[amberpi]

I'm impressed with how NBC is immediately dealing with this. Wish Pixar could say the same thing, as the Lasseter allegations are also a demonstrating a pattern of abusive behavior.

FWIW, Lauer did always give off a plain old "creeper" vibe to me. Like a grown up, entitled "dude bro." That's totally opinion, obviously, just a vibe.

 

[VandVsmama]

Matt Lauer is a jerk. Hope the door doesn't hit him on the way out.

 

[Queen2PrincessG]

EXACTLY! How is this surprising?

 

[asta]

Matt Lauer is a jerk. Hope the door doesn't hit him on the way out.

This is what I was coming here to post! I stopped watching Today a little over a year ago because of Lauer’s very obvious disrespect of a certain woman in a “interview”. I am overjoyed that he got what he deserved and I can watch Today again.

 

[gmi3804]

I know plenty of jerks who aren’t sexual predators.