NBC has fired Matt Lauer, who anchored ‘Today’ for the past two decades.

The firing comes after a coworker came forward with a detailed complaint regarding inappropriate sexual behaviour from Lauer during the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

‘Today’ co-anchors Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb made the announcement on Wednesday morning’s show.
 

According to Guthrie and Kotb, NBC News Chairman Andrew Lack sent the following memo to NBC staff on Wednesday.

Dear colleagues, on Monday night, we received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behaviour in the workplace by Matt Lauer. It represented, after serious review, a clear violation of our company’s standards. As a result, we’ve decided to terminate his employment. While it is the first complaint about his behaviour in the over 20 years he’s been at NBC News, we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident. Our highest priority is to create a workplace environment where everyone feels safe and protected, and to ensure that any actions that run counter to our core values are met with consequences, no matter who the offer. We are deeply saddened by this turn of events, but we will face it together as a news organization and do it in as transparent a manner as we can.

Guthrie and Kotb were clearly emotional as they shared the news, saying that they were “devastated” and were “still processing all of this.”

Photo Credit: WikipediaMatt Lauer

The pair said they were not only heartbroken for their dear friend, but also heartbroken for the colleague that came forward to tell her story.

“We are grappling with a dilemma that so many people have faced these past few weeks. How do you reconcile your love for someone with the revelation that they have behaved badly? And I don’t know the answer to that.”

Lauer has yet to speak following Wednesday morning’s news.