"As hard as it is to report on one of our own colleagues, we remain committed to telling peoples’ stories."
Megyn Kelly is offering the women accusing Matt Lauer of sexual harassment a chance to tell their story.
After the 59-year-old newsman released a statement in regard to being fired from the Today show over these allegations, Kelly opened her program, Megyn Kelly Today, by encouraging the women who have come forward to tell their story on her NBC morning show.
"As hard as it is to report on one of our own colleagues, we remain committed to telling peoples’ stories if they choose to come forward," Kelly said of NBC breaking the news that they had terminated Lauer.
She added, "The women in this case too, the Matt Lauer case, are invited and welcome to do exactly that on this show. We have been that place on all the other cases and we will be that place, as well as for the accused."
NBC News' Stephanie Gosk also appeared on Kelly's show after reporting on the Lauer scandal on the first hour of Today, and explained why NBC chose to cover a story that directly affects the network.
"There have been as many as eight, but many are anonymous," she said of the women who have come forward. "Let me just say, hearing any of those details about anyone is difficult, it's tough. It's particularly tough, because as you know, when you work in a news organization, you accuse yourself of it. You have to report on it and you have to do it."
Gosk added, "The important question is, 'Is this how I would report this story if it were Fox, CBS, whoever it might be? You have to check yourself."
On the final hour of Today, Hoda Kotb once again read aloud Lauer's statement and her guest co-host, Jenna Bush Hager, was on the verge of tears talking about his ousting, admitting it was "hard watching" Kotb and Savannah Guthrie break the news on Wednesday morning.
"When I started here, I remember someone saying, 'NBC, the Today show, is a family.' And that feels cliché. That feels like something people just say," she said. "But that's true. So, when something rocks your family, it rocks all of us -- and that includes a man who was a mentor to many of us."
She then praised those who have come forward. "The women who are here, too, who are part of that same family, who have come forward and want to feel listened to and feel safe and respected -- and they should, and they do," she continued. "It was hard not to be here yesterday. It's hard to be here today. I know many of you feel that same way because you've woken up with this family. I watched this show before I was on it."
Kotb admitted that it was a "difficult period" for those working at Today, but insisted that the show must go on. "When you think about a show that's been on the air 65 years, it goes on no matter who sits in these seats," she said. "I remember growing up and watching it, too, and realizing, 'Wow, this show is going to be on for years to come -- [long] after we all go through our turns.'"
In Lauer's statement, he apologizes after being terminated over sexual harassment claims.
"As I am writing this I realize the depth of the damage and disappointment I have left behind at home and at NBC. Some of what is being said about me is untrue or mischaracterized, but there is enough truth in these stories to make me feel embarrassed and ashamed," read the statement in part. "I regret that my shame is now shared by the people I cherish dearly. Repairing the damage will take a lot of time and soul searching and I’m committed to beginning that effort. It is now my full time job."
Here's more on Lauer's ousting from NBC and the women who have come forward:
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