“Today” show host Matt Lauer apologized for what he called his “troubling flaws” in a statement read aloud on the popular NBC morning show on Thursday, a day after the network fired him, citing inappropriate sexual behavior.
As his 20 years as a fixture of U.S. morning television came to an abrupt end, Lauer found himself joining the fast-growing ranks of powerful men in U.S. entertainment, politics and media to be felled by accusations of sexual misconduct in recent months.
Lauer, 59, said in his statement that some of the accusations against him were “untrue or mischaracterized” but that “there is enough truth in these stories to make me feel embarrassed and ashamed.”
Television personalities Matt Lauer and Giada De Laurentiis attend Giada DeLaurentiis' "Weeknights With Giada" book launch party at the Andaz Hotel on March 26, 2012 in New York City. Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
Reuters has not independently verified the accusations. NBC News Chairman Andrew Lack said the network had never received a complaint about Lauer’s conduct prior to Monday but that “we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident.”
