Geraldo Rivera, who spoke highly of Matt Lauer on Twitter on Wednesday and commented at length about sexual harassment, apologized Thursday for calling journalism a "flirty" business and saying the current wave of accusations might be "criminalizing courtship & conflating it (with) predation."
Lauer's termination for alleged sexual harassment went public early Wednesday morning via the "Today" show, his haunt for more than 20 years.
"Reaction to my tweets today on #sexharassment makes clear I didn't sufficiently explain that this is a horrendous problem long hidden," Rivera tweeted in the evening, hours after expounding on the gray areas of sexual behavior.
"Harassers are deviants who deserve what is coming to them-Often victims are too frightened to come forward in a timely fashion-I humbly apologize."
His employer said Wednesday in a statement, "Geraldo's tweets do not reflect the views of Fox News or its management. We were troubled by his comments and are addressing them with him."
In his earlier tweets, Rivera had suggested that allegations should be made in a timely manner _ he thought five years would do _ with contemporaneous confirmation. Big-bucks settlements mean some people might be motivated by "more than justice," he said.
He said sexual harassment should be limited to situations where a supervisor imposes him or herself on a subordinate who feels unable to make a complaint.
"This issue is so red hot right now there is no room for any thought or opinion but hang em high," Rivera said. "If News wasn't (formerly) a flirty biz then how do we explain so many newsroom courtships that have led to happy marriages?"
