Disgraced ‘Today’ Host Matt Lauer ‘Was Wracked With Pain and Bitterness’ Watching Ex-NBC Colleagues Fronting Paris Olympics’: ‘Gut Wrenching!’
Matt Lauer is still bitter about being fired from Today seven years ago.
Aug. 12 2024, Published 3:30 p.m. ET
Once high and mighty Matt Lauer was said to be miserable as he watched his former colleagues headline NBC’s Olympics coverage in Paris, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Sources claimed it was another painful reminder to the disgraced Today show host of how far he’s fallen since workplace sex scandals forced him out of his ten-figure job in 2017.
Lauer is desperate to return to televison.
A source said: “He was always hugely invested in the Games, so it was gut-wrenching for him to watch others shine in the spotlight.”
Insiders reported Lauer, 66, was glued to his TV and left feeling increasingly embittered as his former minions hosted the global extravaganza.
The predatory broadcaster was booted from the biz in 2017 amid an avalanche of sexual misconduct claims – including rape – which he denies.
Brooke Nevils, an assistant producer to Matt’s co-host Meredith Vieira, claimed he assaulted her in his hotel room when both were covering the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
Meredith Vieira’s assistant producer accused Lauer of assaulting her in a hotel room ten years ago.
The former newsman denied the allegations, but he’s never been able to reboot his TV career, and according to our insider, seven years later, he’s more miserable than ever.
A source said: “It’s agonizing for him being out in the cold still. He co-hosted the opening ceremonies of several Olympics, both summer and winter, and he was excellent at it, in his own estimation.
“So, it was extremely unpleasant to see his former colleagues jostling for positions in Paris.”
Especially galling was seeing former good friend Hoda Kotb – who totally cut him off after the scandal – headline the event.
Hoda Kotb, 60, turned her back on Lauer amid the workplace sexual misconduct allegations against him.
The insider added: “It burned him even more that she got to go to Paris and cover the Olympics.”
Lauer’s “pain and bitterness” after watching his former colleagues host this year’s Paris Olympics comes after other sources claimed the fired Today host is planning a career comeback.
He also reportedly “feels like he was the victim” after getting fired from NBC over the workplace sexual misconduct allegations and “feels he is owed an apology”.
The source said: “He went from being the biggest guy out there, and now every headline is ‘disgraced’; it’s very painful for him to go out there with his girlfriend. He’s very thin-skinned – don’t expect an apology, he’s the one who feels he is owed an apology.
The disgraced star is hoping to replace Hoda Kotb on the Today Show.
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“He’s started to talk to people. He’s planning his next act, still very upset with how he was portrayed, and still feels like he was the victim.”
Another person close to Lauer said the scandal made the former morning show host distrust the media – even as he fights to be “relevant again”.
The insider said: “He now very much believes that the media can’t be trusted. You go from being judge and jury to being I don’t believe the media. Couldn’t be more of a 180.
“He wants to be relevant again; what that is exactly has yet to be decided.”
RadarOnline.com has reached out to Lauer’s team for comment.
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