Matt Lauer Caricature Tribute Removed From Legendary Restaurant

The Palm in New York City is famous for its wall-to-wall caricature pictures of famous celebrities who eat at the steakhouse. According to Page Six, restaurant owners recently decided to remove their photo of Matt Lauer.

Page Six reports that the restaurant opted to cover up and eventually erase Lauer’s picture “about a month ago” following accusations of sexual misconduct during his years working at the TODAY show. The site also pointed out that Today Show hosts Hoda Kotb and Kathlie Lee Gifford still have their portraits up.

Sources said the restaurant has already removed the caricatures of Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby, both of whom are currently in legal battles over their multiple accusations of sexual misconduct.

Elsewhere in New York City, Sardi’s is currently deciding on whether or not to remove its numerous portraits of actors who have been accused recently. The list reportedly includes Geoffrey Rush, Dustin Hoffman, James Franco and Michael Douglas. All of the mentioned men have denied any wrongdoing.

“Until there is some resolution one way or another, we feel it would be inappropriate to remove the portraits,” said Terry Roony, restaurateur.

Lauer’s accusation came to light in late November, when an NBC female employee accused Lauer of sexually harassing her while the two were covering the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. He was promptly fired from his role at TODAY, ending his two-decade tenure with NBC.

Entertainment Tonight released a report on Thursday updating Lauer’s status months after his departure. According to a source, Lauer now leads a “lonely” life away from his family.

“He hasn’t shown his face at his Manhattan apartment lately,” the source told ET. “The Hamptons has been a good place for him to hide, but he isn’t sure he will stay. Matt definitely regrets his behavior. He lost not only his family, but his career and many of his closest friends. The TODAY Show was his life.”

The source also said Lauer and his estranged wife Annette Roque are nowhere near reconciliation. Roque has reportedly been living in her native country of The Netherlands with their two youngest children while the oldest attends boarding school. Roque was spotted in New York City recently visiting law offices without a wedding ring.

“Annette is done playing the role of Matt’s loyal wife,” the source claimed. “Their marriage is completely over. At this point, all they have left to do is to settle their divorce and to separate their assets. The last two years of their marriage were hell. Annette had to hear about Matt’s wandering eye incessantly. People noticed his focus seemed to be all about his career and life in New York, certainly not about making his marriage work.”

Yet despite his allegations, Lauer reportedly believes he could still make some sort of comeback in the media world.

“Matt seems to be under the impression that if he waits this news cycle out, this will go away and he can have a comeback,” the source said. “He has seen a lot of people come back and hopes he will too. For right now, his friends feel that isn’t realistic. His team has discussed a public apology, but agreed disappearing right now seems to be for the best.”