The common saying is ‘how the mighty have fallen’ but in Matt Lauer’s case it might be more along the lines of when the mighty have been forced to move on. Of course the term ‘mighty’ is being used in a very liberal sense of the word since the former Today show host was outed a little over a year ago after being accused of inappropriate sexual behavior. A lot of people didn’t see this coming since many of them considered him to be a standup kind of guy and never anyone that might do something that could damage his own reputation or that of the show. It still comes as a surprise that anyone would think that his forced departure from the Today show was anything but justified, but some people were genuinely shocked to see him let go. But in the wake of his removal the ratings really haven’t been hit all that hard. The man that a lot of people thought was absolutely suited to be one of the best interviewers around really didn’t seem to make much of a difference when it came to how he impacted the show.
As of now it would seem that he’s spent a lot of days either doing nothing or nothing that people have been made privy to. It would seem that he’s staying more focused on his family than anything, which is touching really when you think about it since in a crisis this seems like the thing to do. He has managed to tell people that he plans to come back to TV eventually, but for right now he’s trying his best to just be a dad. He’s even stopped socializing as much and is laying low to kind of keep out of the public eye. One thing you can say for Lauer is that when he gets hit it seems that he knows how to lay back and let the heat die down rather than keep moving forward and make it worse. Of course there’s something to be said for both sides of that issue and it’s really more dependent upon the individual and their reaction than anything.
What is truly frustrating about anyone that’s been charged with sexual misconduct of any type comes the moment they step forward to defend themselves and break their silence. Lauer has claimed that he didn’t speak up for himself, but instead that it was an attempt to protect his family. That makes a decent point since it’s not hard to think that his family has suffered a bit of backlash for this. But upon stating that he’s defending his family and then going into how he acted inappropriately but didn’t do anything of which he’s been accused of is the type of argument that has many people rolling their eyes across the nation even as some grasp onto this as a last ditch effort for Lauer to save face in some way. While many of us can’t and shouldn’t judge considering that we weren’t there and have no first-hand knowledge, the act of a person denying what they’ve been accused of and are being fired for is a sticky issue.
He did admit to having past relationships with some of those he worked with, and he did apologize for hurting them, but last time anyone checked, simply have past relationships and hurting someone’s feelings wasn’t exactly a firing offense anywhere in the country. The damage that he did to his family when this came out was more than apparent, and like so many that have done such things it would seem that he’s sorry now that he was caught, rather than being sorry while he was doing whatever got him fired in the first place. It’s odd how that works sometimes, remorse and hindsight seem to go hand in hand.
There’s no doubt that Lauer has had positive working relations with some of his fellow anchors and that he has been a decent human being to some people. But as of now he seems to be taking the silent victim route as he states that he is trying to focus on his family but that people see him as an “easy mark” at times. While many people might want to protect his reputation and still see him as a very respectable person it’s hard to feel sorry for someone that has so many comfortable retreats to visit and can easily disappear from the public eye when he wants while he tries to salvage the relationships that HE damaged with HIS actions. So yes, finding a tear for Lauer at this point is kind of difficult when it’s been noted that celebrities from all walks of life have found life harder when they have to admit to their follies and possibly face the consequences.
If that wasn’t enough, his wife ended their marriage of nearly two decades and forced him out of their home in the Hamptons. He’s also been made to pay upwards of $20 million in a divorce settlement. Obviously he’s a bit upset about this, but then she was likely more than a little upset about his activities and the fact that they had to come to light on public television. So who really had to suffer?
You know, there’s another saying that goes “You made your bed, now lie in it.”
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