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Today show host Matt Lauer has apologised for what he called his "troubling flaws" in a statement read out on the popular NBC morning show on Thursday, a day after the network fired him for inappropriate sexual behaviour.
Key points:
- Matt Lauer's alleged sexual behaviour started at the 2014 Sochi Olympics
- At least two more women have gone to NBC with similar complaints against Lauer
- None of the women have been publicly identified
Lauer also said repairing the damage he had caused was now "his full-time job".
As Lauer's 20 years as a fixture of US morning television came to an abrupt end, the married 59-year-old found himself joining the fast-growing ranks of powerful men in US entertainment, politics and media to be felled in recent months by accusations of sexual misconduct.
Lauer said in his statement that some of the accusations against him were "untrue or mischaracterised" without explaining further, but said "there is enough truth in these stories to make me feel embarrassed and ashamed".
He was fired after a female colleague complained to NBC officials on Monday evening about a pattern of inappropriate sexual behaviour that began while they were on assignment at the 2014 Sochi winter Olympics in Russia, according to NBC statements.
Lauer 'truly sorry'
Since then, at least two more women have gone to NBC with similar complaints against Lauer, the Today show reported on Thursday. None of the women have been publicly identified.
"Repairing the damage will take a lot of time and soul searching and I'm committed to beginning that effort," Lauer said in the statement, which was read by his former co-host Savannah Guthrie at the start of Thursday's broadcast.
"It is now my full-time job," the statement said.
"The last two days have forced me to take a very hard look at my own troubling flaws."
Lauer said he was "truly sorry" for pain he had caused.
Reuters has not independently verified the accusations.
NBC News Chairman Andrew Lack said the network had never received a complaint about Lauer's conduct prior to Monday, but that "we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident".
Lauer was promoted to a host of the Today show in 1997 and went on to become one of NBC's highest-paid personalities, reportedly being paid $20 million a year.
For the second day in a row, he was replaced by Hoda Kotb, giving the show an all-female lead anchor team.
NBC is faced with the task of suddenly replacing the man who has been the most visible figure in morning television news, the most lucrative part of the network news business.
The network did not respond to questions about its plans for replacing Lauer.
CBS has the same task, since CBS This Morning host Charlie Rose was fired last week for after several women he worked with detailed sexual misconduct charges.
Media analysts say Lauer's abrupt departure could send some viewers to morning news rivals, at least in the short term.
Reuters/AP
Topics: sexual-offences, law-crime-and-justice, arts-and-entertainment, television, united-states
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