EVIDENCE

Report: ‘Lewd’ Text Messages Led to Lauer’s Abrupt Firing

Allegedly sent “incontrovertible proof of inappropriate sexual behavior” to a staffer.

Former Today show co-host Matt Lauer allegedly sexted female staffers at NBC, including a young intern. A new Page Six story reports that Lauer was terminated quickly from the network because the lewd text messages and photos saved by one former intern “showed incontrovertible proof of inappropriate sexual behavior on his part.” He allegedly first approached that woman while she was working at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and she still works at NBC as a junior production worker. “There’s at least one picture [sent to her by Matt] which was a major part of the evidence, which is why the firing came so quickly,” a source is reported to have told Page Six. “My understanding was it was so damning that it was unquestionable whether or not he should be fired.” There are also multiple allegations of sexual assault and harassment by Lauer, including a New York Times report of an employee who was locked in his office and passed out during a sexual encounter. Separately, Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi described the mood at 30 Rock on Wednesday as “shell shocked.” She wrote on Instagram, “When I walked into 30 Rock it felt like someone had died.”