NBC News has fired popular Today show host Matt Lauer after receiving a complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace, the network announced Wednesday.
Lauer’s co-host Savannah Guthrie made the announcement during the opening of the show Wednesday.
“This is a sad morning here at Today and NBC News,” Guthrie said before reading a statement sent to staff by NBC News chairman Andrew Lack.
In the statement, Lack said an employee came forward Monday night to report Lauer for inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace.
WATCH: Matt Lauer’s firing due to sexual misconduct complaint leaves NBC anchors ‘heartbroken’
“It represented, after serious review, a clear violation of our company’s standards. As a result, we’ve decided to terminate his employment,” Lack said in the statement.
“While it is the first complaint about his behavior in the over twenty years he’s been at NBC News, we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident.”
After reading the statement, Guthrie said, “As I’m sure you can imagine, we are devastated and we are still processing all of this.”
The move comes a week after CBS News fired morning anchor Charlie Rose amid reports of sexual misconduct.
U.S. President Donald Trump was quick to respond to the firing and tweeted, “Wow, Matt Lauer was just fired rom NBC for ‘inappropriate behavior in the workplace.’ But when will the top executives at NBC & Comcast be fired for putting out so much Fake News. Check out Andy Lack’s past!”
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