Report: New Matt Lauer Accuser Alleges Sexual Assault

Disgraced former Today show host Matt Lauer was hit with at least two new accusations of sexual misconduct hours after his firing from NBC on Wednesday. The New York Times reports a former employee who spoke to the Times but declined to be named alleged that Lauer summoned her to his office in 2001, locked her in, and sexually assaulted her. She said she passed out after the alleged incident and had to be taken to a nurse. Hours earlier, Variety cited two other accusers as saying he had a “button under his desk that allowed him to lock his door from the inside without getting up.” No details have been provided on the second new accusation, but the Times reported that NBC had been made aware of it. Allegations of sexual misconduct piled up against the veteran television host Wednesday, with claims that Lauer sent lewd messages and inappropriate photos to female colleagues, and in one case gave a female colleague a sex toy and said he wanted to use it on her. NBC News Chairman Andy Lack said the network has “reason to believe” the first sexual-misconduct allegation reported to NBC News management “may not have been an isolated incident.”