Don Lemon isn’t counting out Matt Lauer, the controversial TV personality whose sexual misconduct scandal resulted in his ousting from the “Today” show amid the growing #MeToo movement.
The former CNN anchor reflected on his friendship with Lauer during an interview on the “Hollywood Raw” podcast Wednesday.
“I only got to know Matt after, you know, the whole situation happened, because we live in the same town and we have mutual friends,” Lemon said. “Whenever I see Matt out and about — or you know, if we go out to dinner, my husband and I go out to dinner with him and his fiancée — and people love him.”
He added: “Women love him! They’re like, ‘Man, oh my God, can I get a picture? I love you. I miss you on television.’ I think the public loves him. The public misses him, but it’s the people inside the business who are afraid.”
Lauer, who co-anchored “Today” for a 20-year tenure, was fired from the NBC morning talk show in November 2017 due to a complaint of “inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace.”
Shortly after Lauer’s termination, Variety published the results of a two-month investigation focusing on three women who identified themselves as victims of sexual harassment by Lauer. According to the outlet, “work and sex were intertwined” for Lauer, who allegedly developed a pattern of inviting women to his hotel room while covering the Olympics over the years, as well as to his secluded office within 30 Rockefeller Center.
Why Don Lemon thinks Matt Lauer can ‘set his own course’
Regarding the sexual misconduct allegations brought against Lauer, Lemon told “Hollywood Raw” hosts Dax Holt and Adam Glyn: “I don’t know anything about what happened.”
“Women can feel the way that they feel, and I understand that but that’s their business,” Lemon continued. “I know when I’m out with him, everybody loves Matt and everybody flocks to Matt, and everyone wants a picture and everyone says, ‘I miss you, and we want to see you back on television.'”
When asked about the possibility of Lauer making a comeback, Lemon mused the TV personality “can set his own course” in the world of digital news, adding that cancel culture is “over” following the election of President Donald Trump.
“It’s more the people who are inside of the business who are concerned about, you know, what happened with Matt,” Lemon said. “I think the general public would accept Matt back. And I think people would watch him, and I think the ratings would be great.”
Volvo is currently in the midst of a major transition that will see the company fully embrace electrification over the coming decade. Part of that shift includes the addition of the ES90, a new mid-size luxury electric sedan that will be positioned alongside the gas-burning S90.
While many mainstream automakers continue to trend away from sedans as SUV and truck sales continue to surge, Volvo has been a stalwart competitor in the premium sedan segment. The ES90 will live next to the existing S90 in the Swedish brand’s lineup for at least a couple of years as Volvo evaluates if sedan shoppers are ready to make the switch to electricity.
The ES90 will ride on the same SPA2 platform as the larger EX90 EV SUV, which also underpins the sportier Polestar 3. That means the sedan will likely share the same 111.0-kWh battery pack and an electric driving range in the ballpark of 300 miles or more.
While Volvo hasn’t confirmed any powertrain specifics, we can use the EX90 SUV as a guide. The SUV features a dual-motor all-wheel-drive setup that offers 402- and 510-horsepower variants. While an all-wheel-drive version is a given, the ES90 could add a rear-wheel-drive single-motor setup as well.
The luxury EV sedan segment is growing crowded, and the ES90 will face competitors like the BMW i5, Genesis Electrified G80, Lucid Air, Mercedes-Benz EQE, and Tesla Model S. The Afeela 1, from Sony and Honda’s joint venture, also joins the fray in 2026.
