In particular, there was a 2012 interview with Anne Hathaway that many deemed sexist.
There was the time Matt Lauer asked Anne Hathaway about an exploitative paparazzi photo. The time he pretended to be a “victim” of sexual assault on TV. And the interview during which he grilled Corey Feldman on his experience as a victim of sexual harassment.
These are just some of the videos of Lauer that are resurfacing in the wake of news that the longtime co-anchor of NBC’s Today has been fired tor “inappropriate workplace behavior.”
Here’s a look at the Lauer clips trending Wednesday.
Lauer talked to Hathaway in 2012, who was promoting the movie she’d eventually earn an Oscar for, Les Miserables. He opened that conversation with what many deem a sexist chat referencing a paparazzi shot taken underneath her skirt.
“Seen a lot of you lately,” Lauer joked to her at the start of the show. Hathaway politely replied, “Sorry about that. I’d be happy to stay home, but…the film.” He continued: “Let’s just get this out of the way… you had a wardrobe malfunction. What’s the lesson learned from that?”
Hathaway steered the conversation back to her movie: “It was obviously an unfortunate incident. It kind of made me sad… that we live in an age that someone takes a picture of someone in a vulnerable moment (and) sells it. And I’m sorry that we live in a culture that commodifies sexual behavior of unwilling particideadpannedch brings us back to Les Miz…”
As The Daily Show recalled Wednesday, Lauer starred in a 2012 Today show parody that made light of sexual harassment. He played a “victim” of assault in the workplace, who was slapped by Willie Geist on the rear. “I didn’t do anything differently. I wasn’t wearing a different cologne. This was uninitiated,” Lauer deadpanned to cameras.
When Today ‘s Ann Curry was pushed out of the show in 2012 after a long tenure on the program and a short stint as anchor, many blamed the move on Lauer, who awkwardly kissed Curry’s head when she made the tearful announcement she was leaving.
In 2016, Lauer moderated a discussion between then-candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. By many accounts, Lauer’s treatment of Clinton was unfair and even sexist, with him pressing Clinton on her email server but playing nicer with Trump. At the time, he inspired the Twitter hashtag, “#LaueringTheBar.”
In October, the former child star talked to Lauer on Today about his plan to expose child abusers in Hollywood. Feldman has since called that the interview “hostile” and others accused Lauer of victim-blaming when the TV host said to Feldman: “Every day you wait, I would imagine you believe children are being abused… why are you sitting down and talking to me (and not) police?”
Lauer didn’t appear in this interview, but he was mentioned in an interview on Watch What Happens in 2012, when Andy Cohen asked Couric, Lauer’s longtime Today co-host, about Lauer’s “most annoying habit.” Couric’s answer: “He pinches me on the (rear) a lot.”
In September, Lauer grilled O’Reilly on being fired from his Fox News showover sexual harassment allegations. On Wednesday, many on Twitter pointed out his line of questioning now seems ironic.
“You were the guy that the ratings and the revenue was built on,” said Lauer. “Doesn’t it seem safe to assume that the people at Fox News were given some evidence that simply made it impossible for you to stay on at Fox News?”
Lauercontinued: “Did you ever send a lewd text or email to another employee at Fox News? Did you ever have any human resources cases brought against you?”
And: “Why didn’t you sue those women if you did absolutely nothing wrong?” They came forward and filed complaints against the biggest star at the network that they work at. Think… of how nerve-wracking that must have been. Doesn’t that tell you how strong they felt about the way they were treated by you?”
