When Matt Lauer was abruptly axed from the Today Show, and before varied lurid details of the allegations against him became public, his colleagues Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford expressed love and forgiveness for him.
Hours after the Today Show’s fourth hour with Hoda and Kathie Lee, Variety released a shocking exposé, about allegations against Lauer- from within the NBC family. In it, one woman claimed the anchor flashed his penis at her, and another alleged he bought her a sex toy and included a note about how he wanted to use it on her.
While the usually cheery duo delicately discussed the fall of someone they considered beloved, it is unknown if during Wednesday morning’s show, if they were aware of the scope of the allegations. Yet, Kathie Lee urged forgiveness, while Hoda told cameras waiting outside Rockefeller Center ‘I love him.’
Scroll for video
Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford discussed Matt Lauer’s abrupt departure from the Today Show but expressed love and called for forgiveness for their disgraced colleague
The long time colleagues of Lauer’s, Kathie Lee and Hoda, grappled with the news of their former co-host being canned after a sexual misconduct allegation was lobbed against him by a NBC staffer
During the show, Hoda said it was difficult ‘to reconcile what we’re hearing with the man we know,’ while Kathie Lee went further, urging forgiveness for Lauer.
‘I’m grappling with, should I even share something? But I guess I really should,’ Gifford said, before bringing up her late husband Frank Gifford’s infidelities to make her point.
‘I don’t feel that Matt has betrayed us in any way at all but when I found out that my husband had betrayed me, you question your own judgment. You say, ”Was everything a lie?” And I think we have to very much fight against that, that the man we know and adored was the man we loved and adored and continue to.’
‘I texted him this morning and said ‘I adore you and no person is perfect in this world,’ she added. ‘And what we need now is forgiveness and mercy for one another.’
The day began looking bleak for Lauer when it was publicly announced he had been axed from the Today Show after two decades- but as the day unfolded more lurid allegations surfaced
Hours after the Today Show’s fourth hour with Hoda and Kathie Lee aired, Variety published their report on claims of Lauer’s workplace sexual harassment, and they said the story was in the works before his sudden departure Wednesday.
The reason for his firing, however, came to light before the Today’s fourth hour.
A woman who was within the NBC family during the Sochi Olympics in 2014 told human resources on Monday that the host sexually assaulted her during their time there.
News of her specific account came out around 8am eastern time, while the fourth hour of Today hits at 10am.
Variety spoke with 10 past and present workers at the company who lobbed allegations of varied sexual misconduct.
And more allegations may still come to light, as the New York Times is said to have a report in the works on the disgraced morning newsman as well.
If the Times does publish a new report against Lauer- the scandal’s unraveling could be compared to how the allegations against disgraced media mogul Harvey Weinstein came to light.
With Weinstein it was in fact the New York Times that first broke the news, followed by another bombshell exposé done by the New Yorker.
The unraveling of his career began when a woman claimed to NBC human resources that Lauer had sexually assaulted her during the Sochi Olympics in 2014 (pictured)
Thus far, none of the 10 women who have come forward to Variety, or the woman who gave her account of Lauer’s alleged behavior in Sochi to human resources and the legal department of NBC News on Monday night, have identified themselves.
It’s a delicate situation for the women in media who have worked with NBC and Lauer.
‘There were a lot of consensual relationships, but that’s still a problem because of the power he held,’ said one producer to Variety.
‘He couldn’t sleep around town with celebrities or on the road with random people, because he’s Matt Lauer and he’s married. So he’d have to do it within his stable, where he exerted power, and he knew people wouldn’t ever complain.’