Credit: In Style
Natalie Morales, who once faced countless rumors about having an affair with Matt Lauer, has decided to address the shocking news that the co-host of TODAY had sexually harassed numerous women.
In 2016, Morales left TODAY and took over for Billy Bush on NBC’s Access Hollywood. Bush was fired after a scandalous video emerged showing Donald Trump making lewd comments about actress Arianne Zucker.
Morales began her statement by more or less talking about the past allegations.
The TV personality spoke about how the rumors about the affair with Lauer hurt her family and created chaos at the network at the time.
She went on to address the shocking allegations about Lauer’s firing.
She praised the intern who came forward and explained what had occurred while covering the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014.
Morales went on to say that people should respect the woman’s privacy as she deals with this painful matter.
She said: “I have personally dealt with rumors in the past for years that were hurtful to me, my family – they diminished my hard work.”
Morales went to say: “I’ve addressed those rumors head-on in the past. That is not the story today. The story today is the courage of a colleague who did come forward, and when and if she wants to tell her story publicly, I’m sure she will. But it did take a lot of courage for her to come forward. It was no doubt a very painful decision.”
When Morales exited TODAY, an insider told Page Six at the time that when the affair between the two hosts ended many fights occurred making it hard for them to work side by side.
According to the source: “There’s speculation it’s one of the reasons why she’s moving . . . Matt didn’t want to work with her. There’s an awkwardness between Matt and Natalie . . . He protected her for a long time, and now it seems like something has gone awry.”
Both Morales and Lauer addressed the rumors in a statement that read: “There is absolutely no truth to this completely absurd story. It is damaging, hurtful and extremely sexist. I have proven myself in all aspects of my job as a news professional and journalist, and am adding to my role, taking on three jobs with Access Hollywood Live and Access Hollywood, in addition to TODAY. This move was dictated by me and my desire to grow in my career. Any insinuations beyond that are uninformed.”
Lauer added: “Every aspect of this story is untrue, and it’s frankly sad that someone would tell lies to harm everyone involved.”
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