Fox News commentator Geraldo Rivera responded to the news of NBC “Today” host Matt Lauer’s firing by saying “news is a flirty business” in a Wednesday Twitter thread.
Rivera appeared to defend Lauer from the host of sexual harassment allegations levied against him by describing the former host as a “great guy” and “highly skilled.” Rivera also said it seemed like the recent sexual assault allegations coming out have conflated courtship with predation.
“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?” Rivera tweeted.
Lauer was fired from his position at NBC after a woman came forward and alleged that he sexually harassed her while he covered the 2014 Olympics. A Variety report also contained allegations from a woman saying Lauer once sent her a sex toy.
Rivera called for a stricter definition of sexual harassment, saying it should only be confined to a situation where an employee feels unable to speak out against the behavior of his or her supervisor.
” A jerk’s a jerk in dating. #SexHarassment should be confined to situations where superior imposes himself on subordinate who feels unable to complain because of power of perp or feared consequences to victim’s employment. Shouldn’t be used to get even w bad bosses or hated ex’s,” Rivera said.
Update: A Fox News spokesperson told The Daily Caller News Foundation the network is addressing Rivera’s comments. “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.”
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