After Matt Lauer was fired from NBC after a complaint accusing the anchor of inappropriate sexual behavior, reports began emerging painting an unsavory picture of the Today team member, including a claim that Lauer had a secret button under his desk in his Rockefeller Center office that allowed him to lock his office door.
According to a source, however, the button wasn’t exclusive to Lauer.
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“Many exec offices in 30 Rock have the button,” the source told People. “It’s an idiosyncratic thing.”
A former NBC employee had spoken to the New York Times on Wednesday, alleging that Lauer sexually assaulted her in 2001, following inappropriate comments that began when she started working for the company in the late ’90s.
She told the publication that Lauer asked her into his office, where he locked the door from his desk and proceeded to sexually assault her. She said she passed out and woke up on the floor of the office after which Lauer had his assistant take her to a nurse.
The Times article also indicated that many high-profile employees had the button as a security measure.
In its announcement revealing Lauer’s firing, NBC said it received a “detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior” on Monday and that it had reason to believe “this may not have been an isolated incident.”
Photo Credit: NBC / Nathan Congleton, NBC
