Don Lemon defends pal Matt Lauer — 8 years after ‘Today’ firing: ‘I think the public loves him’

nypost.com:

2017 fall from grace.The former CNN anchor, 58, has remained friends with Lauer after several women accused him of sexual harassment and rape, prompting him to lose his prestigious NBC job.Appearing on the “Hollywood Raw” podcast on Wednesday, Lemon told hosts Dax Holt and Adam Glyn that Lauer, 67, has the potential to make a successful comeback in the podcast world.“I think that if he could come back to digital, he can set his own course.

But I only got to know Matt after, you know, the whole situation happened,” he said.Lemon added that the fan reaction to seeing Lauer in public has not dialed down since his departure from the NBC show.“Whenever I see Matt out and about or, you know, even with us, if we go out to dinner, my husband [Tim MaloneI] go out to dinner with him and his fiancée and people love him.

Women love him. They’re like, ‘Man, oh my God, can I get a picture? I love you. I miss you on television.’ Right?” he said.“And so, I think the public loves him.

The public misses him, but it’s just the… it’s the people inside the business who are afraid of.”“Maybe there is a way that he’ll come back, but I think it’s more of the people who are inside of the business who are concerned about, you know, what happened with Matt,” he added.The former news anchor suggested that Lauer’s return could happen if the public had anything to do with it.“I think the public… I’ll put it this way.