Good Morning America is one of the top-rated morning news programs on television, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t come with some drama. If rumors are true, there are a lot of public scandals and some behind-the-scenes. Who’s the biggest diva on set? Which anchors hate each other? We have the inside scoop!
In light of the #MeToo movement, many men in power have been brought down by allegations of their treatment of women. Today’s Matt Lauer was one of the most enduring faces on the news before he was exposed. It turns out that there is a lot going on behind the scenes of network news shows.
From Good Morning America to the Today Show’s Matt Lauer, here are the biggest dirty little secrets in the world of American news programs.
Why Didn’t Michael Strahan Cover Hurricane Harvey?
Like many others in the public eye, Michael Stahan’s run on Good Morning America has certainly had its share of rumors. One of these allegations includes a September 2017 report from Page Six alleging that ABC News got ticked off when he refused to cut his vacation short to cover Hurricane Harvey – the storm that hit his hometown.
One source claimed, “ABC News asked Stahan to come home from his vacation. He’s from Houston. But he refused and is still floating around on a yacht in Greece somewhere. ABC is really upset with him.”
Why Didn’t Michael Strahan Cover Hurricane Harvey?
Another source stated that the network “just cannot believe he didn’t come back.” However, some downplayed the entire situation. One of the executive producers at Good Morning America claimed that the team “spoke with [Strahan] every day. Michael was very clear he wanted to be part of the coverage, and we decided the best plan was for him to lead the charger covering the recovery.”
In his defense, he was on vacation. Are they even allowed to make him work? I’m pretty sure that’s illegal. Either way, by September 5, 2017, Strahan was back on the air.
Amy Robach’s Racial Slur
Amy Robach found herself in some hot water back in August 2016 when she used the racial slur “colored people” while discussing the controversy surrounding actress Zendaya being cast to play Mary Jane in 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming.
According to people, Robach apologized later that day for her mistake. She told The Associated Press that she really didn’t mean to say “people of color” on-air and insisted that it’s “not at all a reflection of how I feel or speak in my everyday life.” At least she apologized and took responsibility for what she said.
Robin Roberts’ Stalker
Back in 2014, a 43-year-old man named Troy Warren was arrested when he showed up to the Good Morning America Studio and threatened anchor Robin Roberts, according to Page Six. Reportedly, Warren told GMA’s security director that Roberts owed him money, claiming, “When I see her, I’m going to punch her in the face.”
According to Page Six, between June 10 and June 24 of that year, Warren visited the studio ten times. The report came a month after a homeless made stopped by GMA’S Times Square studio and threatened to stab Michael Strahan with a knife. Yikes!
Ginger Zee’s Helicopter Husband
Radar Online sources believe that Ginger Zee’s husband, TV personality Ben Aaron was too much for producers while his wife was a contestant on Dancing with the Stars: “He has been telling the DWTS producers how to write and film the video packages that air before each of his wife’s performances,” according to sources. “Naturally, he thinks he should be in each video.”
Apparently, things got so bad that producers had to tell Zee to “get [Aaron] to back off,” and it supposedly worked. “Ben has been receiving much less camera time on the show and has been moved from the best seats in the front row to the sides.”
Roberts Waited a Long Time to Come Out of the Closet
Robin Roberts officially came out as gay at the end of 2013 by thanking Amber Laign, her girlfriend of 10 years, in a Facebook post where Roberts opened up about her long and painful struggle with MDS (myelodysplastic syndrome). Roberts’s sexuality was the topic of many rumors throughout the years. But, of course, she was criticized for not coming out sooner.
During an interview with Parade Magazine, Roberts revealed that she kept things on the down low in order to protect her girlfriend’s privacy. “News flash: Some people like their anonymity,” she said.
Roberts Waited a Long Time to Come Out of the Closet
To be fair, Roberts and anyone else should only come out when they’re ready. It should be her choice and no one else’s. She went on to say, “This is what’s right for me. Love is love, and I’m grateful to have that. Sometimes there’s a stigma attached to how people view you if you’re living a certain way.”
She continued, “But I don’t care; you gotta live your life. You gotta find what happiness is and what it means for you, and you can’t get caught up in what someone is saying about you on Twitter; you don’t go through a year like I did to not be happy and make your own choices.”
Kelly Ripa Was Blindsided by Michael Strahan
Michael Strahan’s bitter departure from Live! With Kelly to work for Good Morning America in 2016 was a huge failure from the very beginning. Reportedly, his co-host, Kelly Ripa, felt incredibly blindsided when she found out about Strahan’s departure in April 2016.
She literally found out right before the rest of the world did. She immediately took some time off and went on an unplanned vacation, leaving her co-host to announce his exit without her. When she came back to work, Ripa gave a now-famous opening monologue about “respect in the workplace.”
Kelly Ripa Was Blindsided by Michael Strahan
There were many awkward moments in the following weeks. In one episode, Ripa made a joke about contract negotiations. During another one, she brought up her co-host’s highly publicized divorces which made him visibly uncomfortable. According to TMZ, Ripa “made it clear she’d be a happy camper” if Strahan left the show before he was scheduled to leave in September 2016, and he did.
He ended up leaving in May 2016. Ripa pulled it together to say goodbye on his last day: “We are so, so proud of you,” she said. “We achieved so much together, and I look forward to watching you every morning and seeing what else you achieve.” I don’t think Ripa has been tuning it…
The Lara Spencer and Amy Robach Feud
What’s a successful morning news show without some backstage drama? TMZ revealed that Lara Spencer and Amy Robach “hate” each other and “can’t hide their contempt.” Even worse, they reported that ABC News senior vice president, James Goldston, confronted Robach and called her “toxic” for creating tension on set.
In April 2014, Spencer and Robach denied their feud in a TMZ video broadcast, but it didn’t provide much damage control. The next day, Radar Online sources spilled the tea on their alleged feud reporting Robach hated Spencer because she “shamelessly flirts” with men on set and, apparently, abandoned Robach when she was battling breast cancer.
Is Robin Roberts a Diva?
More GMA tension rumors came out in 2014 when ABC allegedly hid the news about Lara Spencer’s promotion to co-host in an internal memo. TMZ sources reported that the awkward timing was deliberate. On the one hand, the network wanted to keep Spencer happy after her colleague (and alleged rival) Amy Robach was promoted a few weeks before.
On the other hand, ABC couldn’t make a big deal out of it because “[Robin Roberts] can be quite a diva, and GMA didn’t want to ruffle her feathers,” according to TMZ. Perhaps that’s why the memo called Roberts “the captain of our team.”
Roberts’ Mississippi Controversy
More controversy came in 2016. Gay and lesbian magazine The Advocate was upset with Roberts when she was featured on Mississippi’s official tourism guide. The reason was that the state passed a law which was called by the magazine:
“A pro-discrimination law, allowing businesses, individuals, and broadly defined religiously affiliated organizations to refuse service to LGBT people, single mothers, and others who somehow offend an individual’s sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction regarding marriage and sexuality.” Unsurprisingly, the controversy prompted a quick response from the native Mississippi girl.
Roberts’ Mississippi Controversy
Roberts told The Advocate that the publication interviewed and photographed her “well before recent events.” She added, in part: “My longtime partner, Amber, and I have always felt welcomed in my home state, and it hurts my soul to think of anyone not feeling welcome…
I’m proud that my beloved mother and father taught me as a child growing up in Mississippi to focus on the many things we all have in common, not our few differences. And what we all deserve to have in common is the right to be treated equally.”
George Stephanopoulos Getting in Trouble
In May 2015, ABC apparently went into “crisis” mode after George Stephanopoulos revealed that he has been donating $75,000 to the Clinton Foundation since 2011, according to Page Six. During that time, sources were worried that Stephanopoulos would receive a similar fate to NBC rival Brian Williams who was suspended for exaggerating past reporting.
Stephanopoulos would end up apologizing on air twice, first on Good Morning America, and then again on his Sunday political show This week, in the midst of concerns that his reporting would no longer be objective.
George Stephanopoulos Getting in Trouble
“Even though I made [the donations] to support work done to stop the spread of AIDS, help children, and even protect the environment in poor countries, I should have gone the extra mile to avoid even the appearance of a conflict,” the veteran news anchor said on GMA. “I apologize to all of you for failing to do that.”
Stephanopoulos got out of the controversy relatively smoothly, and ABC stood by him throughout the scandal. Furthermore, the only major punishment he received was self-inflicted. Politico said he withdrew himself from moderating a Republican debate which was scheduled for February 2016.
Matt Lauer’s Shady Double Life
Good Morning America isn’t the only news show with scandalous secrets. Matt Lauer rose to the top of the Today show back in the ‘90s and quickly because the most successful and beloved anchors in morning news.
However, after working with NBC for more than 20 years, Lauer’s legacy was shattered in November 2017, when he was fired from the network over sexual harassment allegations. As it turns out, that friendly face America fell in love with was living a sketchy double life. Here is what you didn’t know about the former anchor.
Lauer Gets Fired
After reporting on a recent wave of powerful men accused of sexual harassment, Today show anchor Matt Lauer ended up among them when he was abruptly fired before the show’s November 29, 2017 broadcast.
The news of his departure came through a memo from NBC News Chairman Andrew Lack, which said that NBC “received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace by Matt Lauer.” The memo also stated that even though there were no other complaints or accusations against the anchor throughout his 20 years working with NBC, they are reason to believe this may not have been a one-time thing.
Lauer Gets Fired
Savannah Guthrie announced Lauer’s termination on Today’s broadcast. She said everyone else at work just found out about the situation right before going on air and that she was “heartbroken for the brave colleague that came forward to tell her story.” All the details of the initial accusation didn’t come out until almost two years later.
In a passage from Ronan Farrow’s 2019 book via CNN, Catch & Kill, Brooke Nevils claimed her life was “derailed” after she endured physical and emotional trauma from a sexual encounter with Lauer in 2014 in Sochi, Russia. She ended up getting a “seven-figure settlement.” After the news broke, Variety and The New York Times published allegations from multiple women accusing Lauer of sexual misconduct.
His Side of the Story
Two years after these serious allegations were imposed against him, Matt Lauer finally spoke out in a lengthy statement to Variety, where the former anchor denied all claims of inappropriate sexual behavior.
Most emotionally, Lauer shut down the rumors of his now-infamous lock button and portrayed his alleged assault of Brooke Nevils as a long-running, consensual extramarital affair that turned messy when he decided to go back to his normal life and “pretend as if nothing happened.” According to Lauer, the affair began that night in Sochi, Russia, but the two continued seeing each other when they got back to New York.
His Side of the Story
He admitted that he ended their relationship “poorly” by completely ghosting her and ceasing all communication. He went on to say that Nevils tried to rekindle their romance by calling him “late at night while [he] was home with [his] family.” He then accused her of making false accusations in order to help sell a book.
Lauer ended his long denial letter with a final message: “For two years, the women with whom I had extramarital relationships have abandoned shared responsibility and instead shielded themselves from blame behind false allegations. They have avoided having to look a boyfriend, husband, or child in the eye and say, ‘I cheated.’ They have done enormous damage in the process. And I will no longer provide them the shelter of my silence.”
Did He Have a Lock Button in His Office?
In addition to the disturbing details of the alleged sexual harassment included in Variety’s expose, many people noted the creepy depiction of Matt Lauer’s office at 30 Rock, specifically the “button under his desk that allowed him to lock his door from the inside without getting up.” Yeah, that certainly wouldn’t help his case.
“This afforded him the assurance of privacy,” Variety wrote. “It allowed him to welcome female employees and initiate inappropriate contact while knowing nobody could walk in on him, according to two women who were sexually harassed by Lauer.”
Did He Have a Lock Button in His Office?
Sources later claimed that the button was actually an “idiosyncratic thing” that was standard in “many exec offices in 30 Rock,” but Lauer told Variety in a long statement that this button never even existed:
“Despite numerous erroneous reports in the past, there was not a button in my office that could lock the door from the inside. There was no such locking mechanism. It didn’t exist. NBC confirmed this fact publicly following my termination. It would have been impossible to confine anyone in my office for any purpose, and I have never attempted to make anyone feel as if they were confined in my office.”
Mixing Business With Pleasure
Even though he would receive high praise from his colleagues throughout the years, Matt Lauer wasn’t always on his best behavior around some of his former co-anchors like Katie Couric and Meredith Vieira.
After the sexual harassment allegations against Lauer were made public, TMZ got ahold of one particularly unsettling video of Lauer making inappropriate comments toward Vieria during a commercial break for Today back in 2006. As he prepared for the next segment of the show, Lauer is heard telling Vieira, “Pretty sweater. Keep bending over like that. It’s a nice view.”
Mixing Business With Pleasure
Meanwhile, TMZ also exposed a 2012 interview Couric gave to Watch What Happens Live’s Andy Cohen, during which she stated that Lauer would frequently pinch her behind the set of Today. It should be noted that Couric laughed while she was giving her confession, and Vieira’s husband said she wasn’t offended by his comments.
Either way, Ronan Farrow reported in his book that Vieira was the one who encouraged Nevils to report Lauer formally. She later appeared on Andy Cohen’s SiriusXM show, Radio Andy, where she admitted that she was “shocked like everybody else” about the accusations against Lauer.
Getting Ann Curry in Trouble
This wasn’t the first time Matt Lauer’s reputation with NBC took a hit. New York magazine published a feature on Ann Curry’s messy 2012 departure from the Today show, and author Joe Hagan speculated that Lauer’s attitude and lack of chemistry with him on-air contributed to her uncomfortable and public downfall.
“Lauer looked awkward and unhappy next to her [on air] – a situation that Lauer himself had also diagnosed,” Hagan wrote. “He openly complained about her to NBC staffers to [executive producer Jim] Bell.”
Getting Ann Curry in Trouble
Things allegedly got so bad that Lauer reportedly began “getting into fights with producers and tearing the show up in the early morning hours,” Hagan stated. “He made it clear to friends that he was miserable with Curry and uncomfortable with his corporate masters at Comcast. He spoke often of downsizing his work life, playing more golf, spending more time with his kids in the Hamptons.”
Curry’s experience was far from what Hagan described. In an interview with CBS This Morning from 2018, the anchor claimed that NBC had a “climate verbal harassment,” that “verbal sexual harassment was pervasive,” and that she was “not surprised” about the allegations against Lauer. As for whether or not she should be fired, she said: “I’m not the one to ask about that… I don’t know what was all behind it. I do know it hurt like hell.”
Was He Devoted to Today?
Matt Lauer got more involved with the morning news show around the same time he was allegedly considering leaving NBC and Today altogether. Part of the reason was reportedly because of a leaked report claiming American Idol’s Ryan Seacrest was after Lauer’s job.
“So possibly a negotiating tactic.” Lauer had “begun working closely with [Jeff] Zucker to develop an idea for ABC: the Katie Couric daytime talk show with Matt Lauer – together again. In his New York magazine piece, Hagan wrote, “Lauer met with Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney, ABC’S parent company, who made a strong effort to recruit Lauer.”
Was He Devoted to Today?
“There were issues of both timing and money, but the larger corporate strategy was clear: If ABC could poach Lauer, then Today, NBC’s cash cow, would fall from its perch, Good Morning America would be ascendant, and the entire NBC network would crumple like a house of cards,” Hagan said.
He continued, “The ABC deal, in its final form, would feature Lauer in a dual role: co-host of the daytime program with Couric and also as an ABC News personality.”
He Didn’t Save Ann Curry
Lauer ended up staying with NBC and signed a two-year deal that would earn him a record-breaking $25 million a year, according to New York magazine. Essentially, the Today show would be “rebuilt” around him. People reported that Lauer used this offer from ABC as “a negotiating tactic,” and Seacrest joined Today in a different way that didn’t threaten Lauer’s position.
As for Curry, New York magazine noted that Lauer’s contract reboot wasn’t what led to her departure. In fact, she was apparently leaving either way, regardless of Lauer’s new contract.
He Didn’t Save Ann Curry
Reportedly, Curry’s name wasn’t even brought up during Lauer’s negotiations, and apparently, they told him in advance that she would leave the show whether or not he stayed – for reasons far beyond their icy relationship, including a sudden decline in the morning ratings. Nevertheless, the magazine alleged that Lauer had more than enough leverage to save Curry but didn’t, especially with his newfound power.
“To the contrary, in signing a new contract to remain at the show for at least two more years, he tacitly ratified the plan to remove her,” Hagan said. “Which doesn’t make him a horrible person – it makes him, for better or worse, a pro.”
Perks From NBC
After Ann Curry’s departure, Matt Lauer’s name got dragged through the mud, but the anchor weathered the storm… at least long enough to sign another two-year contract in 2014. By then, you’d think he would have developed a bit of humility, but he didn’t. NBC News executives were desperate to keep Lauer happy, according to Page Six.
“They believe Today has turned a corner and he is the key to its continuing success,” according to sources. How did they keep a smile on his face? “They agreed to pay for his helicopter flights and back, so he can spend more time with his family,” a source revealed.
Perks From NBC
As it turned out, a spokesperson for the show didn’t exactly deny the report. The rep told Page Six that, “On rare occasions, Matt will fly home, but most of the time you’ll find him stuck in traffic on the Long Island Expressway with everyone else.” He’s so relatable.
Freshly cast Today show member Billy Bush was the first to get the inside scoop on Ryan Lochte’s rumored robbery during the Rio Olympics back in August 2016. NBC quickly turned to Matt Lauer to cover all the aftermath. How did that happen?
Did Matt Lauer Steal Billy Bush’s Story?
According to some Page Six sources, “anchor animal” Lauer dove in and took the story for himself. “Matt has a history of demanding interviews, and it’s Billy’s first big story as an anchor,” a source says. “It was his story. NBC snubbed Billy and let Matt do it. Billy got burned.”
Another insider added, “This is Matt’s story now. Billy got it but was pushed out.” A third source chimed in and claimed that Lochte specifically requested to speak to Lauer because the longtime newsman already interviewed the swimmer several times in the past. If it’s any consolation for Bush, the entire thing turned out to be one huge lie.
His Wife Filed for Divorce
Matt Lauer and Annette Roque have been married since 1998. With three children, he appears to be an all-American family man. However, his seemingly perfect personal life almost came crumbling down when Roque quietly filed for divorce back in 2008.
About one month later, the divorce was called off. However, it wasn’t until 2014 that Radar Online got a hold of her divorce papers, and people really found out the trouble that was going on. She reportedly alleged that Lauer endangered her “physical and mental well-being… so as to render it unsafe and improper” for her to live with him.
His Wife Filed for Divorce
Roque also claimed that he “continuously and repeatedly [gave] higher priority to… personal interests than to his family obligations to [her], causing [her] to feel abandoned, isolated and alone in raising the parties’ children.”
If that wasn’t damning enough, Roque also said her husband was “extremely controlling” to the extent where she was unable to make “even the smallest decisions without his approval, including, but not limited to, decisions regarding finances, travel plans, decorating the parties’ homes and domestic help issues.” The couple officially separated after his termination, according to People, and it was finalized in 2019… right before he publicly admitted to having extramarital affairs.
Lauer Was Cheating on Her for a While
In the midst of Matt Lauer’s sexual misconduct scandal, People reported that the former anchor “regularly cheated on his wife” – and that it was an open secret. “Everyone knew,” one source revealed. “His wife lives in the Hamptons, and he lives in the city, but we never heard he made unwanted moves.”
Another source added, “Everyone on staff knew he cheated regularly on his wife. A third source stated that “there was definitely more than one” affair and claimed that “they were never with anyone whom [Lauer] didn’t have significant seniority over.”
Lauer Was Cheating on Her for a While
However, another source said that Lauer “wasn’t a lech, and he wasn’t known as someone who would corner you or retaliate against you if you spurned him or someone who would lure you into his dressing room.” It turned out that People’s sources had at least one aspect correct.
Lauer finally owned up to his affairs in 2019, in part of a long statement to Variety, where he denied the accusations against him: “Because of my infidelity, I have brought more pain and embarrassment to my family more than most people can ever begin to understand,” he said. “They’ve been through hell. I have asked for their forgiveness, taking responsibility for what I did do wrong, and accepted the consequences.”
His Rumored Affair With Natalie Morales
In 2016, Matt Lauer’s personal life was called into question yet again. Page Six reported that Natalie Morales was leaving Today for Access Hollywood because she was involved in an affair with Lauer: “There’s speculation it’s one of the reasons why she’s moving…,” according to one source. “Matt didn’t want to work with her. There’s an awkwardness between Matt and Natalie… He protected her for a long time, and now it seems like something has gone awry.”
Both Lauer and Morales shot down the rumors. Lauer told the Mike Lupica Podcast that he discussed the allegations to protect his family: “When you feel your family is being threatened and hurt, you speak up,” he said. “And then you put your head down and go back about your business.” A year earlier, he also denied rumors that he hooked up with celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis.
Don’t Bother Him on a Flight
For some people, sitting next to Matt Lauer on an airplane might sound like a dream come true. Well, as long as you don’t bother him with the details about the funeral you just attended. Page Six reported that Lauer was on a red-eye flight when a “mournful stranger in first-class started telling him about an all-day funeral.”
Reportedly, Lauer got so frustrated and annoyed that he asked for his seat to be changed during the flight. According to one passenger, Lauer asked a flight attendant, “Is this a full flight?” He just wanted to get away from this weird guy and find a seat where he could sleep.
Don’t Bother Him on a Flight
Apparently, Lauer wanted to move over to a section with two empty seats, but he ended up being forced to sit next to Natalie Morales because the flight attendant had just upgraded two other passengers. “He sat down next to Natalie, put a blanket over his head, and slept the whole way,” according to the source.
It seems like the anchor’s on-air personality and real-life personality are very different. In his defense, he probably just wanted a nice relaxing flight. Who wants to hear about a funeral? It sounds quite depressing.
He Wasn’t Happy When Megyn Kelly Joined NBC
You won’t hear him complaining on air, but rumor has it that Matt Lauer was not pleased about adding Megyn Kelly, former Fox News star, to the NBC news team. Page Six reported that Lauer was “notoriously territorial.”
The anchor heard they were hiring Kelly on the morning the news broke. He didn’t appreciate that he wasn’t informed earlier and allegedly “blew a gasket,” according to one source. Megyn ended up outliving Lauer on the network, but she was eventually let go as well. You know how it is, cancel culture.
She Got Canceled Too
Rolling Stone reported that Megyn Kelly Today was canceled after she made some “controversial comments about blackface and Halloween costumes.” However, many believe the real reason her show was canceled was due to her coverage of the allegations against Lauer earlier that year.
Like her interview with Today’s former production assistant Addie Zinone, who described her rumored sexual relationship with Lauer as “an abuse of power.” When asked about the segment, Kelly said she knows “too much that others don’t know” about the situation with Lauer and refused to say whether NBC pushed back on her for her reporting.