Ousted TV host Matt Lauer is allegedly harboring resentment over the accusations that led to his famous fall from grace as he plans a media comeback, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Lauer, now 66, was fired by NBC in 2017 after nearly 20 years on the Today Show amid a string of workplace sexual misconduct allegations. The former anchor has consistently denied the claims, and an insider revealed he has no intention of apologizing.
“He went from being the biggest guy out there, and now every headline [attached to him] is ‘disgraced;’ it’s very painful for him to go out there with his girlfriend,” the source told Us Magazine on Tuesday. “He’s very thin skinned — don’t expect an apology, he’s the one who feels is owed an apology.”
Hoping for redemption, Lauer is quietly laying the groundwork for his return to the media landscape, the source said, adding he thinks “enough time has gone by” since the workplace scandal.
“He’s started to talk to people,” the insider shared. “He’s planning his next act, still very upset with how he was portrayed, and still feels like he was the victim.”
However, public relations expert David Johnson also told the outlet he believed any future success for Lauer hinges on an apology, and that if he "continues to view himself as the victim, he is doomed in his comeback attempt."
“If he is truly of the mindset that he was the victim he will not succeed," Johnson said. "Americans want a sign of contrition and that he changed.”
A source close to Lauer said the scandal has made the former morning show host distrust the media.
“He now very much believes that the media can’t be trusted. You go from being judge and jury to being I don’t believe the media. Couldn’t be more of a 180,” the source said.
While the embattled broadcaster “wants to get back into the media,” he has been spending most of his time on Long Island, the person added. “He wants to be relevant again; what that is exactly is yet to be decided.”
The remarks are just the latest sign of Lauer's efforts to return to the spotlight.
Sources at a wedding he attended in December said Lauer was seen begging his Today show replacement, Savannah Guthrie, for help reviving his career.
"Savannah and Matt looked to be having a serious talk while the party went on," a guest told the National Enquirer.
Witnesses said Lauer was mostly shunned by his other former colleagues who were celebrating Today producer Jennifer Long's marriagein New York.
In 2019, Ronan Farrow revealed the details of the initial allegation of sexual misconduct against Lauer in his bombshell book, Catch and Kill.
Several more women soon came forward with similar reports.
The former TV personality was among the prominent figures brought down by the #MeToo movement.
Amid the fallout, Lauer started dating Shamin Abas in 2019, and while the couple has kept a low profile, they were spotted at Don Lemon's wedding over the weekend.
A source told RadarOnline.com exclusively that their romance was going "strong" after months of considering a marriage of their own.
Lauer met Abas, a public relations and marketing executive from Wales, through mutual friends following his divorce from Annette Roque.