Don Lemon he has his friend To Matt Lauer back after the ex Today was the host of the show forced out of his high-profile gig in 2017
As it airs on the Wednesday, January 22 episode of “Hollywood Raw Podcast with Dax Holt and Adam Glynn,” Lemon, 58, said he believes Lauer, 67, can make a successful comeback — potentially on a podcast.
“I think if he can go back to digital, he can chart his own course,” he explained, before adding: “But I only got to know Matt after, you know, the whole situation happened.”
The former CNN host said he’s seen Lauer receive positivity from fans firsthand during interactions while in public.
Matt Lauer is “planning a comeback” years after being fired from NBC amid sexual misconduct allegations. “He started talking to people,” a source tells Us Weekly exclusively about the morning show host. “He’s planning his next move, he’s still very upset about the way he’s been portrayed, and he still feels like (…)
“Whenever I see Matt out or, you know, even with us, if we go out to dinner, my husband (Tim Malone) goes out to dinner with him and his fiancee and people love him. Women love it. They’re like, “Man, oh my God, can I get a picture? i love you i miss you on tv right?” he recalled. “So, I think the public loves him. The public misses him, but it’s just… the people in the business are the ones they fear.”
He added: “Maybe there’s a way for him to come back, but I think more than the people inside the business are concerned about what happened to Matt.”
Matt Lauer.
(Photo by Getty)Lemon said he believes that if it were up to the public rather than the networks and executives, Lauer would have had a chance to return to the public eye.
“I think the public … I’ll put it this way. I think the general public would accept – just me – I would accept Matt back. And I think people would watch it and I think the ratings would be great.
This is not the first time proposals have been made to return to the industry. Whisper of comeback for Lauer became louder in April 2024 when a source said Us Weekly exclusively that the host is “planning a comeback” years after being fired by NBC amid sexual misconduct allegations.
Matt Lauer was the face of NBC before he left and virtually fell out of favor. Once one of America’s best-known and highest-paid TV journalists, “he believes the media can’t be trusted,” a source tells Us Weekly exclusively. “He was a man who spent his whole life chasing people professionally; his job was (…)
“He started talking to people,” the insider shared with us at the time. “He’s planning his next move, he’s still very upset about the way he’s been portrayed and he still feels like the victim.”
Among a host of other high-profile men involved in the #MeToo movement, the former Today host made headlines in November 2017 after a colleague accused him of inappropriate behavior. He was eventually fired the same month after the allegations. In 2019 journalist Ronan Farrow published details of the alleged attack in his book Catch and Kill. Lauer has denied all the allegations against him.
