The New York Times on Thursday further detailed a sexual misconduct complaint made against former “Today” show host Matt Lauer following his ouster from NBC.
The paper reported Wednesday, citing an unnamed source “briefed on the network’s handling of the matter,” that NBC had received two additional complaints against Lauer on that day alone.
In its initial reporting, the Times reported that one woman had claimed that Lauer “had summoned her to his office in 2001 and then had sex with her.”
When the article was updated later, the Times detailed the complaint, noting that the former employee had accused Lauer of sexual assault.
“One complaint came from a former employee who said Mr. Lauer had summoned her to his office in 2001, locked the door and sexually assaulted her. She provided her account to The New York Times but declined to let her name be used,” the Times reported. “She told The Times that she passed out and had to be taken to a nurse. She said that she felt helpless because she didn’t want to lose her job, and that she didn’t report the encounter at the time because she felt ashamed.”
Separately, Variety reported Wednesday that allegations against Lauer had included him dropping his pants in front of a female employee in his office, and then reprimanding her when she did not engage with him sexually. Lauer also reportedly gave a colleague a sex toy, which came with an “explicit note about how he wanted to use it on her,” according to the report.
Lauer said in a statement following his firing that “some of what is being said about me is untrue or mischaracterized, but there is enough truth in these stories to make me feel embarrassed and ashamed.”
