News of Lauer’s unceremonious canning by NBC on Wednesday for multiple allegations of sexual harassment has been followed by a rush of grotesque accounts of the Today anchor’s behind-the-scenes behavior, including luring a woman to his office and showing her his penis.
This is the rare type of behavior so repulsive that it has the power to unite people across the political and social spectrum in condemnation—with the exception of Geraldo Rivera, that is.
Sad about @MLauer great guy, highly skilled & empathetic w guests & a real gentleman to my family & me. News is a flirty business & it seems like current epidemic of #SexHarassmentAllegations may be criminalizing courtship & conflating it w predation. What about #GarrisonKeillor?
— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) November 29, 2017
Rivera’s defense of the indefensible is in keeping with his own history. In fact, he has made no apologies about his own sexual misdeeds. He even wrote a book about them. In Exposing Myself, published in 1991, Rivera admits to a variety of lurid behaviors, including groping Bette Midler:
“We were in the bathroom, preparing for the interview, and at some point I put my hands on her breasts. She loved it, and we fell into a passionate embrace.”
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, however, Midler recalled the incident differently, saying Rivera drugged her and forced himself on her:
Meanwhile, Rivera offers some rules on how to deal with all of these allegations going forward:
#SexHarassment allegations should require: 1-made in a timely fashion-say w/n 5 yrs. 2-some contemporaneous corroboration, like witnesses, electronic or written communications. W $ settlements in multi-millions slight chance exists some victims are motivated by more than justice
— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) November 29, 2017
It appears Rivera’s suggested guidelines would protect men like Matt Lauer. And, conveniently, Geraldo Rivera.