Wow.
On Twitter, the programme said: “On Monday night, we received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behaviour in the workplace by Matt Lauer.
“As a result, we’ve decided to terminate his employment.”
Lauer co-hosts The Today Show. NBC said it had “reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident”.
The network said it was the first complaint about his behaviour in his time there – more than 20 years – but NBC News chairman Andy Lack said it represented a “clear violation of our company’s standards”.
It’s becoming more and more clear that a great many of the media and political icons who have spent years telling middle America how to live our lives are disgusting pigs in private.
But still some get a pass and are voted into office.
It appears that Roy Moore would be among kindred spirits should be be elected.
So true.
True – Ted Kennedy got reelected at least 6 times. Would have gotten reelected again if he hadn’t died.
He may still get reelected :)
Back in the day that behavior was found acceptable by those in power, both in government and in the private sector. Both parties have given passes to those who can advance their agendas. Businesses have given passes on those in power in order to protect the business from negative ramifications.
This behavior has gone on forever in government, be it local, state, or federal. And it’s gone on in the private sector be it large global enterprises, or small local businesses.
Hopefully we are at the beginning of moral reckoning for how we hold those in power accountable.
I don’t think so, Pat. I work in the private sector with businesses from Fortune 50 to SMB. The kind of behavior we are hearing about from politician, Big Media, and Hollywood is the kind of brazen stuff I’ve never even heard about in the rest of the private sector except in stories from the 1970s and before. This Mad Men type behavior was largely purged from corporate America in the 1980s and 1990s. I’m not saying it doesn’t still happen occasionally, but it is rare. This is an area where I think corporate America is decades ahead of the politicians and media.
That’s a good point, Owen. I was talking with a coworker this morning who remembers the atmosphere of the mid-70s telecom industry – and the coping mechanisms the women who made up the majority of the low-level staff had for dealing with unwanted attention from their bosses. She remembers the first significant changes to that environment coinciding with the Women’s Lib movement. I agree with your take that the corporate sector moved away from the ‘chasing secretaries around the desk’ stereotype in that time frame.
The next big event that got the nation talking about sexual harassment was the Clarence Thomas / Anita Hill debate. After that, the boundaries seemed to expand a bit from direct actions to the more nebulous ‘hostile work environment’, and the number of legal cases involving sexual harassment more than doubled in the first half of the 1990s.
What we are seeing now, I think, is another expansion of the boundaries, where the ‘harasser’s’ intent is of lesser importance than how their words or actions are received by the ‘victim’. For example, the fact that Louis CK asked permission from some of the women involved would have been an airtight defense even five years ago.
It is funny that I am seeing a lot of people pushing back with the argument of “Innocent until proven guilty”. We are seeing a separation between what is legally problematic and what is morally problematic. I don’t think that anything that Louis CK did could be legally prosecuted easily, but public opinion has made him untouchable (pun intended).
Lets keep them coming out. This is almost as good as the promise that Trump made to drain the swamp in Washington. Lets get rid of anyone (left or right) that has abused their position of power sexually over someone. I think we are still due for one or two big ones.
Pat,
I am for Roy Moore getting out of race.
I would love for Trump to step down and have a Pence presidency.
I think Barton should resign and get mental help.
Would you call for Franken, Conyers, and the protecters of their ilk, like Pelosi to resign?
Kevin,
You bet Franken, Farenthold, and Conyers should resign.
“On June 10, 2014, in response to Haueter’s complaint about [Greene’s] shirt … which Haueter claimed was transparent and showed [Greene’s] nipples, allegedly Rep. Farenthold (R) told [another woman staffer] that [Greene] could show her nipples whenever she wanted to,” Greene’s complaint asserted.
Lauren Greene actually put this is her sexual harassment complaint. So Greene complained to Farenthold directly about her problems with Haueter and was subsequently fired. Her complaint was settled for $84K. Would have been cheaper to just buy her a bra.
Yes, there is a lot of garbage out there but could it be everything is not as one sided as we are led to believe?
Good, Franken, and Conyers are resigning. Good to see one side starting to clean their house.
Except one is denying that, and another is endorsing his wife-beating son.
That’s like cleaning your shanty with dogshit. The troll above is real versed in that.
So, you don’t think Franken and Conyers should resign? If not what exactly are you saying they should do?