The entertainment and reporting world tilted when these reports came to light. Thanks to Variety, NBC was forced to comment. NBC stated that they were aware of only three other allegations, and were forced to acknowledge that they had indeed received these formal complaints.
The complaints confirmed the events detailed had occurred between the years of 2000 and 2007, but the complaints largely went ignored. Fans of the Today show were shocked that nothing had been done, and it became clear that Lauer himself would have to talk about his side of the stories, and he thankfully already had a platform to do it from.
Inappropriate Behavior
A female employee at NBC lodged a complaint against Lauer, referring to an incident in 2014. Lauer, the female employee, and plenty of others from NBC were at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The woman – who remains unidentified – complained Lauer behaved most inappropriately with her while the two were in Russia, and the behavior continued once back in the states.
It left the woman feeling uncomfortable and afraid, and in light of the #MeToo movement, she decided enough was enough, and made a complaint to the higher ups. One that even NBC couldn't ignore, given the current climate of abuse.
Independent Investigations
Before too long it became clear that this had reached farther than just NBC. It turns out that Variety and The New York Times were both doing their own digging after picking up the story – there's nothing like getting a big load of dirt on a business rival.
They were after the full story, and there was no way they were going to stop. It was thanks to these investigations that we learned more about Lauer, including the incredible detail Variety discovered that something like ten other women had also filed allegations against the reporter for similar actions!
Releasing a Statement
As the rumors swirled around Lauer's head, he put himself on the line and on-air by releasing a statement. His professional conduct and life had come under fire, and he did what he could to shed light on the allegations. He first said that some of the allegations were “untrue or mischaracterized,” but went on to say that many aspects had truth to them.
He said that the events that were true left him “embarrassed and ashamed” of his own conduct. However, there is yet more drama that would continue to rock Lauer's life after his public statement.
Two Weeks Later
A mere fortnight after Lauer released his statement on the reports, yet another allegation arose. A woman by the name of Addie Zinone lodged another complaint against the news anchor, once again citing inappropriate behavior of a similar vein.
Zinone was a former production assistant at NBC that explained she had been in a consensual relationship with Lauer, but she felt that Lauer was abusing his power over her during that time. She included details in her report, such as the idea that turning down his advances made her fear for her job. This raises another detail: Lauer was married the whole time.