Mike Segar
Matt Lauer has broken his silence about the sexual-misconduct allegations that torpedoed his career. The former co-host of NBC’s Today was fired in November after the company received a complaint about his alleged misconduct, with NBC Chairman Andy Lack saying at the time that he had “reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident.” In a statement to The Washington Post, Lauer admitted he “acted inappropriately,” but denied any abusive behavior. “I have made no public comments on the many false stories from anonymous or biased sources that have been reported about me over these past several months. I remained silent in an attempt to protect my family from further embarrassment and to restore a small degree of the privacy they have lost,” Lauer said. “But defending my family now requires me to speak up. I fully acknowledge that I acted inappropriately as a husband, father, and principal at NBC. However I want to make it perfectly clear that any allegations or reports of coercive, aggressive, or abusive actions on my part, at any time, are absolutely false.”