Matt Lauer out as NBC morning news anchor following sexual harassment complaint

NBC Morning News anchor Matt Lauer has been fired by the network following an internal investigation of a sexual harassment complaint filed against him, NBC announced this morning.

Just after 4 a.m. Wednesday morning NBC’s Today show posted the following announcement on Twitter: “Matt Lauer has been terminated from NBC News. On Monday night, we received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace by Matt Lauer. As a result, we’ve decided to terminate his employment.”

The NY Times published an additional paragraph of an internal NBC memo from NBC president Andrew Lack to his staff, stating, “While it is the first complaint about his behavior in the over 20 years he’s been at NBC News, we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident.”

Lauer’s colleagues were forced to deal with the news live on the air.

A visibly saddened Savannah Guthrie told the live television audience, “All we can say is we are heartbroken; I’m heartbroken.” She referred to Lauer as a dear friend, and asked, “How do you reconcile your love for someone with the revelation that they have behaved badly?”

An NBC anchor since 1992, Lauer is the latest in a series of celebrities and executives to face sexual misconduct allegations. No further information about Lauer’s behavior has been reported at this time.