Back in January 2016, “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie and her then-co-host Matt Lauer appeared on “Watch What Happens Live!” with Andy Cohen, and, let’s just say, you have to watch what happened to believe it, especially in light of Lauer being fired from NBC News for “inappropriate sexual behavior.”
When asked by a caller about who he missed working with more, Katie Couric or Meredith Vieira, Lauer explained that not only did he miss both, but that he had a “kiss on the lips relationship” with Vieira.
“Meredith and I have a ‘kiss on the lips’ relationship,” Lauer explained about the difference between Vieira and Couric. “Meredith is one of those warm people. Every time she sees you, she kisses you on the lips.”
Both Guthrie and Cohen agreed.
Lauer went on to say that he and Couric have a “trading barbs” relationship, where “there’s always jokes, one after the other.”
In retrospect, both of these comments by Lauer raise red flags. Lauer was fired on Wednesday after a complaint surfaced that he exhibited inappropriate sexual behavior. NBC News chief Andrew Lack said in a statement that “while it is the first complaint about his behavior in the over twenty years he’s been at NBC News, we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident.”
Reports from Variety and the New York Times showed that it, indeed, wasn’t an isolated incident and that Lauer exhibited sexual predatory behavior with his colleagues and co-workers for years.
With respect to Couric, she complained about Lauer on the same show (i.e. WWHL) back in 2012 saying that Lauer “pinches me on the ass a lot.”
Lauer may have alleged that Vieira was the one who initiated the “kiss on the lips,” and it’s certainly possible that Vieira has a very intimate way of expressing love and admiration for her friends and colleagues, but can we really take Lauer at his word, given the women who have come forward against him? After all, Lauer was caught saying on camera how nice a view it was when Vieira was bending over.
If anything, Lauer was attempting to justify his inappropriate sexual behavior with women because of how some of the women around him act and behave.
We should’ve known that the signs were there. Fortunately, one of his accusers finally came forward, but on the downside, Lauer had so much power and influence at NBC News that it took this long for someone to tell their story. At least he can’t continue on the way he has and that women in the workplace, particularly NBC News, can feel a bit safer.
