Matt Lauer Is Planning His Comeback

When Matt Lauer has been in the news lately, it’s been largely about real estate: either the Hamptons home he was forced out of in the wake of reports of his sexual misconduct, or the Manhattan home, now on the market, where he learned he’d been fired from Today. Since his firing in November, Lauer has reportedly been lying low in another Hamptons home, but a recent sighting in Manhattan suggests what we really should have seen coming: Matt Lauer is ready for his comeback.

Tucked away in a Page Six report about the warm welcome Michael Cohen received at an Upper East Side restaurant (a familiar experience for disgraced members of Trumpworld), there is this intriguing sentence: “Lauer is said to be testing the waters for a public comeback by coming out of hiding from his Hamptons home. With his marriage to Annette Roque now over, he’s ready to restart his life, pals say.” Lauer was at the same restaurant as Cohen, having lunch with Mitch Modell of Modell’s Sporting Goods.

A comeback for Lauer might be easier said than done. So far, none of the dozens of high-profile men who lost their jobs amid the slew of sexual misconduct allegations that began last October have successfully bounced back into the spotlight. In an April 2 New York Times piece, Mario Batali seemed to be testing the waters, as the profile discussed him “eyeing his second act.” The backlash, as was surely to be expected, was swift.

As Sarah Ellison wrote for Vanity Fair in November, Lauer had denied allegations of sexual misconduct to NBC executives in the days leading up to his firing. In response to the allegations that got him fired on November 29, Lauer gave a statement to Variety:

“Some of what is being said about me is untrue or mischaracterized, but there is enough truth in these stories to make me feel embarrassed and ashamed,” he said. “I regret that my shame is now shared by the people I cherish dearly.”