Geraldo Rivera decided to throw in his two cents defending his old buddy and pal Matt Lauer’s termination from NBC on charges of sexual misconduct in the workplace. And boy, did he blow it.
In a Wednesday afternoon tweet-storm, Rivera seemingly tried to tamper the serious accusations against Lauer with the caveat, “News is a flirty business,” suggesting that Lauer was just trying to get his flirt on with the women at NBC and that our society may be "criminalizing courtship."
Sad about @MLauer great guy, highly skilled & empathetic w guests & a real gentleman to my family & me. News is a flirty business & it seems like current epidemic of #SexHarassmentAllegations may be criminalizing courtship & conflating it w predation. What about #GarrisonKeillor?
— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) November 29, 2017
Twitter users were not amused, as one user used an article from Variety to point out that Lauer not only allegedly preyed on victims that were beneath him on the NBC hierarchy, he had a button under his desk that afforded him the privacy needed to carry out his sexual misdeeds.
Yeah, real "flirty" to lock women in your office. pic.twitter.com/C0ESuTCIFX
— Allison Babka (@AMBabka) November 29, 2017
Or. pic.twitter.com/acZTJKXCIV
— Allison Babka (@AMBabka) November 29, 2017
Or. pic.twitter.com/B28KE5ENPA
— Allison Babka (@AMBabka) November 29, 2017
Rivera's employer, Fox News, didn’t seem to like his tweets either, evidenced by their statement disavowing his views on the matter and informing users that they would confront him, according to a CBS News report.
In response to all the blowback he received, Rivera soon changed his tune, sort of.
Reaction to my tweets today on #sexharassment makes clear
— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) November 30, 2017
I didn't sufficiently explain that this is a horrendous problem
long hidden-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
(Cover Photo: Mark Taylor)