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Don Lemon has his friend Matt Lauer’s back after the first Today presenter was forced to leave his high-profile gig in 2017.
While he appears on the Wednesday, January 22, episode of the “Hollywood Raw podcast with Dax Holt and Adam Glyn,” Lemon, 58, said he believed Lauer, 67, could make a successful comeback — possibly on a podcast.
“I think if he can go digital again, he can chart his own course,” he explained, before adding, “But I didn’t get to know Matt until after, you know, the whole situation happened.”
The former CNN anchor said he has seen Lauer receive positivity from fans firsthand during interactions in public.
Matt Lauer is planning a comeback years after he was fired from NBC amid sexual misconduct allegations. “He started talking to people,” a source exclusively tells Us Weekly of the morning show host. “He is planning his next act, still very angry about the way he was portrayed, and he still feels like he was the one […]
“Every time I see Matt on the road, or, you know, even with us, when we go out to eat, my husband [Tim MaloneI] go out to dinner with him and his fiancée and people love him. Women love him. They’re like, ‘Man, oh my God, can I get a picture? I love you. I miss you on television.’ Right?” he recalled. “And so I think the public loves him. The public misses him, but it’s just the people within the company that are afraid of it.”
He added: “Maybe there is a way for him to come back, but I think it’s more the people within the company that are concerned about what happened to Matt.”
Matt Lauer.
(Photo by Getty)Lemon said he believes if it were up to the public and not the networks and executives, Lauer would have a chance to return to the public’s attention.
“I think the audience… I’ll put it this way. I think the general public would accept – only me – that Matt would accept back. And I think people would watch it and I think the ratings would be great.
This is not the first time suggestions for a return to the industry have been made. The whispers of a return for Lauer grew louder in April 2024 when a source broke the news We weekly exclusively that the host was “planning a comeback” years after he was fired from NBC amid sexual misconduct allegations.
Matt Lauer was the face of NBC before he left and all but disappeared in infamy. Once one of America’s most recognized and highly paid TV journalists, “he believes the media cannot be trusted,” a source tells Us Weekly exclusively. “He was a man who went after people professionally all his life; his job was […]
“He started talking to people,” the insider shared with Us at the time. “He is planning his next act, still very angry about the way he was portrayed, and he still feels like he was a victim.”
Amid a slew of other high-profile men involved in the #MeToo movement, the first Today The presenter made the news in November 2017 after a female colleague accused him of inappropriate behavior. He was ultimately fired that same month following the allegations. In 2019, journalist Ronan Farrow published details of the alleged attack in his book Catch and Kill. Lauer has denied all allegations against him.