Former “NBC Nightly News” anchor Tom Brokaw denied to the Huffington Post on Friday that he had demanded his successor, Brian Williams, be fired over a recent admission that a story Williams told about an incident in Iraq was bogus.
Brokaw’s comments come after multiple reports based on anonymous sources suggested he was upset about the incident or had called for the firing.
Williams apologized on Wednesday night for saying he had been aboard a helicopter in Iraq that took rocket-propelled grenade fire. The newsman admitted he had been on a different helicopter and blamed the error on “the fog of memory.”
“I have neither demanded nor suggested Brian be fired,” Brokaw said in an email to The Huffington Post. “His future is up to Brian and NBC News executives.”
The New York Post’s Page Six had reported this week that Brokaw wanted Williams’ “head on a platter” over the incident and CNN reported that Brokaw was “furious” about the situation.
Brokaw, however, didn’t outright defend his successor.
Fellow former news anchor Dan Rather also weighed in on the issue but was more outspoken in his support for Williams. He described Williams as being “an honest, decent man, an excellent reporter and anchor — and a brave one,” in a statement to The Huffington Post on Thursday.
“I can attest that — like his predecessor Tom Brokaw — he is a superb pro, and a gutsy one,” Rather said.
