00:00After two former NBC employees publicly called out the network to conduct a new
00:04investigation into Matt Lauer's conduct, NBCUniversal is saying that's not going to happen.
00:09The call for an investigation is in regards to Ronan Farrow's claims that NBC covered up
00:14Lauer's alleged misconduct, detailed in his new book Catch and Kill, Lies, Spies and a
00:19Conspiracy to Protect Predators. Former NBC host Megyn Kelly appeared on Fox News'
00:25Tucker Carlson Tonight and called on the network to conduct an outside
00:28investigation into the claims made against Lauer, who was fired in November 2017, saying,
00:34What Ronan is suggesting is that they covered up for one sexual predator, Harvey Weinstein,
00:38in order to protect another, Matt Lauer. They deny all of this. She added,
00:43If that's true and there's nothing to hide, get an outside investigator.
00:47More needs to happen to get to the bottom of this. Former NBC News host Linda Vester also made
00:52a similar proposal, saying, Comcast, the parent company, should launch a real investigation
00:57with outside investigations right away. But NBCUniversal spokesperson Hilary Smith told
01:02The Hollywood Reporter that there will be no outside investigation into Lauer, saying,
01:06We are very confident in the report that was conducted. We fired Matt Lauer within 24 hours
01:12of learning what he did and promptly launched a corporate investigation. It's also worth noting
01:17that this was a corporate investigation that was conducted by an almost entirely female team,
01:22none of whom are part of the news division. That internal investigation was led by NBCUniversal
01:27General Counsel Kimberly Harris, with consultation from two outside law firms. The report, that
01:32was based on 68 interviews, concluded that the network, quote, found no evidence indicating
01:38that any NBC News or Today Show leadership, NewsHR, or others in positions of authority in the
01:44news division received any complaints about Lauer's workplace behavior prior to November 27, 2017.
01:50Farrow's book Catch and Kill details NBC's alleged secret payouts, and how Matt Lauer's
01:55alleged indiscretions may have played a role in the network's decision to kill Farrow's
01:59Harvey Weinstein expose that the reporter had originally planned to take to NBC, but eventually
02:04published in The New Yorker. For more updates to this story, head to THR.com.
02:08And until next time, for The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Neha Joy.
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