Megyn Kelly appears willing to give recently ousted "Today" host Matt Lauer a platform to discuss his sexual misconduct scandal during her hour of the NBC morning show.
Kelly _ who hosts the 9 a.m. hour of the program with "Megyn Kelly Today" _ made it clear any of the women accusing Lauer of inappropriate behavior are welcome to tell their stories on her show. She then extended that invitation to the people who are being accused of sexual impropriety as well, without specifically naming Lauer.
"As hard as it is to report on one of our own colleagues, we remain committed to telling people's stories if they choose to come forward," Kelly said at the end Thursday's opening segment. "And 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 in all the other cases, and we will be that place _ as well as for the accused _ on this hour," she concluded.
Lauer, 59, was fired Wednesday by NBC after the network received a complaint from a co-worker accusing the longtime "Today" show personality of inappropriate sexual behavior. Multiple other women have come forward to accuse Lauer of misconduct since.
Lauer responded to the allegations in a statement Thursday, claiming he regretted some of his undisclosed actions while maintaining not everything alleged against him is accurate.
"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," Lauer said. "I regret that my shame is now shared by the people I cherish dearly."
Kelly, who began hosting her hour of "Today" in September, said Wednesday at a Business Insider media conference that she'd "heard rumors" about Lauer before the firing, according to Variety, but admitted, "I hear a lot of rumors about myself that aren't true."
