New Allegations Emerge Against Matt Lauer

Multiple women have come forward alleging sexual misconduct on the part of Matt Lauer, the Today show host fired by NBC on Wednesday. Variety reported on multiple incidents of alleged sexual harassment, including that Lauer allegedly gave a colleague a sex toy as a gift and told her he wanted to use it on her. Another woman alleged that Lauer once dropped his pants in front of her in his office and “reprimanded her for not engaging in a sexual act.” Lauer reportedly had a “button under his desk that allowed him to lock his door from the inside without getting up,” two accusers told the outlet. An NBC employee came forward to management earlier this week alleging sexual misconduct, which preceded Lauer’s firing. Earlier Wednesday, NBC News Chairman Andy Lack said he has “reason to believe that this may not have been an isolated incident.” Later Wednesday, Page Six reported that Lauer sent “lewd messages and revealing pictures” to multiple women, including an intern—one of which was during the network’s coverage of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. The messages allegedly “showed incontrovertible proof of inappropriate sexual behavior on his part,” according to Page Six. The New York Times reported that NBC received at least two new complaints against Lauer on Wednesday alone, including one from an ex-employee who alleges that the former anchor “summoned her to his office in 2001 and then had sex with her.”