Megyn Kelly dodges questions on Matt Lauer after firing

Megyn Kelly dodges questions on Matt Lauer after firing

Megyn Kelly has admitted hearing 'rumors' about Matt Lauer's alleged sexual misconduct before he was fired on Tuesday but said she hoped they 'weren't true'. 

The NBC host was speaking at Business Insider's IGNITION media event when she made the revelation on Wednesday, hours after addressing Lauer's shock firing on her own morning show. 

She denied having any 'official knowledge' of Lauer's alleged wrongdoing but said she knew reporters were 'sniffing' around 'the issue'. 

In her comments about Lauer, she also boasted about knowing ahead of time that CBS veteran journalist Charlie Rose was due to be exposed for alleged misconduct too.  

'I didn't have any official knowledge but because of the work I do and the stories I cover and the connections I have in the industry, I have a general feel for - I knew the Charlie Rose thing was coming - and I'd heard rumors about Matt but that's all they were. 

'My feeling on it was a rumour is not the same as reportable fact. I knew people were sniffing around the issue and, you know, hoped it wasn't true,' she said.  

Lauer, 59, was fired on Tuesday night as a result of his alleged sexual assault of a colleague while they were working on the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.  

Kelly is now believed to be the network's highest paid host, taking home an annual salary of $18million. 

Lauer was the highest paid morning host, earning $25million a year. Now Kelly Rippa of Live With Kelly & Ryan holds the title with her annual reported salary of $22million. 

Since Lauer's firing was announced, both The New York Times and Variety have since revealed they were working on in-depth pieces to expose him and suggested he had more accusers.  

Rose was fired by CBS earlier this month after being accused of sexual harassment by multiple women. 

Lauer's first accuser came forward on Monday night and gave 'compelling evidence' of her account, the source said. He was fired 24 hours later and his departure was announced by NBC Chairman Andy Lack on Wednesday morning. 

At IGNITION, Kelly said she could not have believed the rumors as fact and that she would not have been surprised if they had transpired to be false. 

'I hear a lot of rumors about myself that are completely untrue. 

'When you're a public figure people do make things up about you and put them out there in print, so I had no inside knowledge at all. 

Kelly added that 'she wouldn't have been surprised if none' of the claims against Lauer were true. 

I wouldn't have been surprised if none had materialized and he had a long and enjoyable last however many years he wanted to be at the Today show,' she said. 

She went on to discuss being sexually harassed herself at Fox and said it was the duty of powerful women to be a champion and confidante of those in lower-ranking positions who find themselves being victimized at work.

'If a woman came to me at NBC news and said this has happened to me, a) I would advise her on what to do and b) I would work it behind the scenes even if I had to go into the bosses office and say "here's a name, do some investigating, I'm not going to tell you who reported it, I don't have to." 

'Powerful women need to be there for less powerful women so that they can grow into powerful women,' she said. 

News of Lauer's departure dominated the network's morning shows and Kelly, who was brought on in January from Fox, did not shy away from the topic. 

'This one does hit close to home. I, too, have known Matt for a long time. And he's been a friend and kind and supportive to me in my transition to NBC news. 

'And I see the anguish on my colleague's faces. But when this happens, what we don't see is the pain on the faces of those who found the courage to come forward. 

'And it is a terrifying thing to do,' she said.  

Kelly, 47, later harkened back to her time at Fox News, 'another news network where this happened' and vowed, like Guthrie and Kotb, to push on with their coverage of scandal despite their personal connections to it.   

'We don't see the career opportunities women lose because of sexual harassment or the intense stress it causes a woman dealing with it when she comes to work each day. 

'I am thinking of those women this morning and hoping they are okay. The days to come will not be easy.

'We are in the middle of a sea change in this country. 

'An empowerment revolution, in which women, who for years felt they had no choice but to deal with being harassed at work, are now starting to picture another reality. 

'To feel that change is within their grasp. 

'As painful as this moment is, for so many here at NBC, today, at CBS earlier this month, at Fox News over the last year, in Hollywood this fall, it is a sign of progress, of women finding their voices, their courage and of the erosion of a shameful power