For the second time in two weeks, a high-profile media personality apologized for alleged sexual misconduct, but with a caveat: All or none of the accusations may be true, possibly.
Ousted NBC “Today” anchor Matt Lauer released a statement Thursday responding to claims by multiple female colleagues who said he sexually assaulted them.
“To the people I have hurt, I am truly sorry,” the statement said, effectively admitting his guilt. But then he created room for some deniability.
“Some of what is being said about me is untrue or mischaracterized,” the statement said, “but there is enough truth in these stories to make me feel embarrassed and ashamed.” Lauer did not dispute any specific allegations, which include giving a sex toy to a colleague as a gift and telling her how he wanted her to use it and having sex with an unwilling coworker in his office.
A similar episode played out last week when veteran TV journalist Charlie Rose was removed as the anchor of CBS’s “This Morning” when he, too, faced accusations related to inappropriate behavior.
On Nov. 20, the day Rose was accused, he released a statement that said, “In my 45 years of journalism, I have prided myself on being an advocate for the careers of the women with whom I have worked. Nevertheless, in the past few days, claims have been made about my behavior toward some former female colleagues.”
Rose went on to say he was “greatly embarrassed” but added that he did “not believe that all of these allegations are accurate” and said he “always felt that I was pursuing shared feelings, even though I now realize I was mistaken.”
Lauer and Rose are just two of the latest well-known media figures to go down in what has become a tidal wave of accusations over sexual harassment, assault, and inappropriate workplace behavior. In recent months, media mogul Harvey Weinstein, former Fox News anchor Bill O’Reilly and two high-level staff members at NPR have lost their jobs after facing similar claims.
Some of the accused, like O’Reilly, have flatly denied the allegations, while others, like former New Republic editor Leon Wieseltier, have not.
But others, like Lauer and Rose, have apologized but allowed themselves some room to refute at least parts of the accusations.
On Nov. 20, the same day that Rose was accused, so was New York Times White House reporter Glenn Thrush.
Multiple women said Thrush behaved inappropriately with them, according to a Vox report authored by a former colleague of Thrush’s and who also said he assaulted her. One woman claimed that Thrush had presented himself as an advocate and mentor, but then engaged in unwanted sexual advances.
Laura McGann, the author of the Vox report, said that when she and Thrush were colleagues at Politico, they once went to a bar where “he caught me off guard, put his hand on my thigh, and suddenly started kissing me.”
Following the report, Thrush said in a qualified statement, “I apologize to any woman who felt uncomfortable in my presence, and for any situation where I behaved inappropriately.”
But then he disputed details of the report. “I have never offered mentorship or reporting advice to anyone, man or woman, with an expectation of anything in return. To assert otherwise is false,” he said. He also disputed McGann’s personal anecdote.
“[T]he encounter was consensual, brief, and ended by me,” he said.
In October, accusations brought down another big name at NBC. The prolific journalist Mark Halperin, who was contracted by NBC and MSNBC, apologized after a report that several women accused him of sexual assault from earlier years when he worked for ABC.
His apology was also couched in some denial, without specifics.
“I am profoundly sorry for the pain and anguish I have caused by my past actions. I apologize sincerely to the women I mistreated,” the statement read. “Some of the allegations that have been made against me are not true.”
