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.
Variety has talked to three women who identified themselves as victims of sexual harassment by Lauer, and their stories have been corroborated by friends or colleagues that they told at the time. They have asked for now to remain unnamed, fearing professional repercussions. The cause of his dismissal, according to sources, was a detailed complaint from another current NBC employee about inappropriate sexual conduct from Lauer that started on a trip at the Sochi Olympics in and continued for several months.
The employee met with human resources at NBC on Monday night. But behind the scenes, Lauer was a different person. Despite being married, Lauer was fixated on women, especially their bodies and looks, according to more than 10 accounts from current and former employees.
He was known for making lewd comments verbally or over text messages. For Lauer, work and sex were intertwined. His office was in a secluded space, and he had a button under his desk that allowed him to lock his door from the inside without getting up. This afforded him the assurance of privacy. It allowed him to welcome female employees and initiate inappropriate contact while knowing nobody could walk in on him, according to two women who were sexually harassed by Lauer.
According to sources, the sexual harassment extended to when Lauer traveled on assignment for NBC. Several employees recall how he paid intense attention to a young woman on his staff that he found attractive, focusing intently on her career ambitions.
And he asked the same producer to his hotel room to deliver him a pillow, according to sources with knowledge of the interaction. The workplace may be the last place in America where expectations regarding sex are crystal clear, repeatedly explained, and enforced by the larger culture. It does. Most medium and large-size employers have the same workplace policy regarding sexual harassment: Senior people cannot have sexual relationships with junior ones.
The power difference between Lauer and Nevils is about as large as you can find in any company. Catharine A. Nevils may not be the first NBC employee to have been harassed by Lauer. A roast of Lauer that took place before the MeToo movement—a roast attended by his colleagues and bosses—included well-received and knowing jokes about his tendency to become involved with young women at the network.
The revelations about Lauer have disgusted and unsettled me like few other stories in the MeToo era. That is because Today had a single, unvarying ethos: respect for women.
From its earliest incarnation more than 65 years ago, that show has served the women all across the country who are at home raising children and taking care of people. How many generations of American children were raised while their nearby mothers sipped coffee and paused to watch a Today segment about how to make a household budget, or wean a baby, or help a child cope with bullying? There was uplift and distraction and information in that show, all of it created for the women who quietly did some of the most important work in the country.
But it was a performance to which they gave their all—especially Lauer, who was excellent in the role. Skip to content Site Navigation The Atlantic. Popular Latest. He became an even more powerful king even as the kingdom around him shrank. On Wednesday morning, as Savannah Guthrie choked back tears and struggled through her opening monologue, the cracks in the NBC firmament were already appearing.
Lauer has been prized and protected by a succession of NBC News presidents. Furthermore, Lack and Lauer are longtime friends and have vacationed together. A person familiar with the matter told me that indeed the two men are friends, and yet when Lack heard the detailed report from H. The two men were close, the former colleague told me, and Lauer fought for Zimmerman to stay.
An insider close to Kelly disputed both claims. You could already see reports of him saying that it was a mistake. Curry and Bush could not be reached for comment.
0コメント