« Everybody knew that Matt later was having inappropriate relationships with women, » says a former « Today » producer to TheWrap
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NBC says no one at the network knew anything about the accusations of sexual misconduct against Matt Lauer before Monday night. But a growing number of people find that hard to believe.
A growing number of people — including two former “Today” producers who worked closely with Lauer — told TheWrap that Lauer’s transgressions were widely known.
“Everybody knew that Matt Lauer was having inappropriate relationships with women,” said a former “Today” producer who worked on the show for 12 years. “Most of the senior leadership was too.”
“It was definitely a boys club,” said another former producer. “They loved their sexy young interns.”
Another “Today” show staffer called Lauer’s inappropriate behavior “an open secret” and described NBC as “a cesspool of affairs and hook-ups.”
A fourth individual, a current senior NBC official, added that Lauer’s philandering was aided by a former booker, Matthew Zimmerman, who himself was fired this month for what a network spokesperson called “inappropriate conduct with more than one woman at NBCU.
