Matt Lauer was fired from NBC News on Wednesday after an employee filed a complaint about "inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace," the network announced. 
 
 Savannah Guthrie made the announcement at the top of the "Today" show. "We are devastated," she said. 
 
 Later in the day, Variety published a story containing additional sexual harassment allegations against Lauer. The story cited accounts from three unnamed women. 
 
 The publication also included allegations that NBC News protected Lauer, citing several woman and saying "they complained to executives at the network about Lauer's behavior, which fell on deaf ears given the lucrative advertising surrounding 'Today.'" 
 
 CNN has not independently confirmed the charges. And Lauer has not commented. 
 
 "We can say unequivocally, that, prior to Monday night, current NBC News management was never made aware of any complaints about Matt Lauer's conduct," an NBC spokesperson told CNN in the wake of the Variety story. 
 
 Lauer's sudden ouster came as a shock to viewers -- but not as a complete surprise to his "Today" show colleagues. They knew that Variety and other news outlets were investigating Lauer's off-camera conduct. 
 
 One of those outlets, The New York Times, was in touch with an accuser who then met with NBC lawyers and human resources officials on Monday evening. 
 
 The accuser's attorney, Ari Wilkenfeld, said it was a three-hour-long meeting. 
 
 "My client detailed egregious acts of sexual harassment and misconduct by Mr. Lauer," Wilkenfeld said. 
 
 An investigation ensued on Tuesday. A decision was made to terminate his employment on Tuesday evening -- a swift turnaround time. 
 
 Related: Ann Curry fans see karma in Matt Lauer's firing 
 
 NBC News chairman Andrew Lack, a close friend of Lauer's, called and talked with him, according to a source with knowledge of the process. 
 
 Lack told staffers on Wednesday morning that Lauer was accepting of the decision and expressed remorse, the source said. 
 
 The details of the woman's complaint have not been made public. But Lack said in a memo to staff that "it represented, after serious review, a clear violation of our company's standards." 
 
 The source said the woman alleged that the inappropriate behavior began while Lauer was in Russia covering the Winter Olympics in 2014. 
 
 An NBC News spokeswoman declined to comment. 
 
 Lack's memo said it was the first complaint lodged against Lauer in his career at the network. But it also said "we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident." 
 
 Lack may have been alluding to the ongoing investigations into Lauer's behavior. 
 
 Variety reporter Elizabeth Wagmeister said on Twitter that she had been pursuing "serious sexual harassment allegations against Lauer" for two months. 
 
 "NBC was aware" of the reporting, Wagmeister tweeted. "There are multiple women we've spoken to with far-ranging accusations against Lauer. The power of journalism has never been more evident with this cultural change." 
 
 Lauer's colleagues were visibly shaken up about the firing news on Wednesday's "Today" show. Guthrie, his co-host for the past five years, was told overnight about his termination. 
 
 "We were both woken up with the news kind of predawn," Guthrie's co-host Hoda Kotb said. "And we're trying to process it and make sense of it. And it will take some time for that." 
 
 Related: Read Andrew Lack's memo to NBC staff 
 
 The "Today" show is one of the most popular and most profitable franchises on American television. Lauer was the cornerstone of the program for two decades. 
 
 The network now has to figure out how to replace him at the anchor desk. 
 
 Lauer is the latest high-profile man in media to be brought down by allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior. Just last week, CBS News fired one of its own morning anchors, Charlie Rose, after a report in The Washington Post chronicled years of alleged sexual misconduct on his part. 
 
 The torrent began when The New York Times and The New Yorker reported on allegations against the Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. 
 
 Since then, actors Kevin Spacey and Louis C.K. have been suspended or removed from projects after allegations against them became public. And other prominent journalists, including Mark Halperin of NBC and Michael Oreskes of NPR, have been fired or suspended from their jobs. 
 
 Earlier this month, NBC News fired Matt Zimmerman, a top talent booker at the network who worked at "Today," over allegations of "inappropriate conduct." 
 
 Zimmerman declined to comment on Wednesday. 
 
 Related: CBS News and PBS fire Charlie Rose 
 
 The firing of Lauer removes one of the most recognizable personalities on television at a time when morning news programs are increasingly important to network news divisions. 
 
 "This is a sad morning at 'Today' and NBC News," Guthrie said at the top of the 7 a.m. hour. "As I'm sure you can understand, we are devastated. I'm heartbroken for Matt." 
 
 Guthrie also said she was heartbroken for the woman who accused Lauer of misconduct, noting "it's long overdue" that women feel comfortable coming forward against abusive men. 
 
 Kotb, on the set with Guthrie, said she has known Lauer for years and "loved him as a friend and a colleague." 
 
 "It's hard to reconcile the man who walks in every day" with the person who was identified in the complaint, she said. 
 
 Lauer, 59, was named a co-anchor of "Today" in January 1997 after three years as the newsreader. 
 
 He co-anchored NBC's coverage of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and other historic news events. 
 
 His contract calls for him to be paid tens of millions a year. It reportedly ran through 2018. 
 
 --CNNMoney's Jill Disis, David Goldman and Chris Isidore contributed to this report. 

 Matt Lauer, a familiar face in morning news as the anchor of "Today" for two decades, was fired by NBC News after a detailed complaint about inappropriate sexual behavior that took place during the 2014 Sochi Olympics. 
 
 The accusation also noted that the alleged behavior continued in the workplace after the games, NBC News confirmed. 
 
 "Today" co-anchors Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb were emotional as they announced Lauer's firing Wednesday, telling viewers at the top of the live broadcast that they were "heartbroken" over his departure but didn't yet know all of the details. 
 
 In a memo to employees sent Wednesday morning, NBC News Chairman Andrew Lack said the complaint, which was made by a female colleague of Lauer's, prompted a serious review and represented a "clear violation of our company's standards." 
 
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 Lack said it was the first complaint lodged against Lauer, 59, for his behavior since he took over as anchor of the show in 1997, but there was "reason to believe" it may not have been an isolated incident. 
 
 "Our highest priority is to create a workplace environment where everyone feels safe and protected, and to ensure that any actions that run counter to our core values are met with consequences, no matter who the offender," Lack said. 
 
 Related: Since Weinstein, here's the list of men accused of sexual misconduct 
 
 Ari Wilkenfeld, who said he's the lawyer for the woman who accused Lauer, said in a statement that he and his client met Monday evening for several hours with representatives from NBC's Human Resources and Legal Department. He said she would not be identified. 
 
 "Our impression at this point is that NBC acted quickly, as all companies should, when confronted with credible allegations of sexual misconduct in the workplace," Wilkenfeld said. "While I am encouraged by NBC's response to date, I am in awe of the courage my client showed to be the first to raise a complaint and to do so without making any demands other than the company do the right thing." 
 
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 Guthrie, who joined Lauer at the anchor desk in 2012, said she was "heartbroken" for both him and the "brave colleague who came forward to tell her story and any other women who have their stories to tell." 
 
 "I'm sure we will be learning more details in the hours and days to come. And we promise we will share that with you," she said. 
 
 Kotb added that she has known Lauer as a friend and colleague for 15 years and "it's hard to reconcile what we are hearing with the man who we know, who walks in this building every single day." 
 
 Guthrie said it can be difficult to make sense of accusations of inappropriate sexual behavior against a longtime colleague. 
 
 "How do you reconcile your love for someone with the revelation that they have behaved badly and I don't know the answer to that," she said. "But I do know that this reckoning, that so many organizations have been going through, is important, it's long overdue and it must result in workplaces where all women — all people — feel safe and respected." 
 
 Lauer's departure comes in the wake of sexual misconduct complaints lodged in recent months against high-profile men working in entertainment, politics and media. 
 
 Last week, talk show host and journalist Charlie Rose was fired by CBS News, PBS and Bloomberg after eight women accused him of past sexual harassment and unwanted advances in a report in The Washington Post. 
 
 Rose, who co-hosted "CBS This Morning," released a statement apologizing for his behavior while maintaining that some of the allegations were inaccurate. 
 
 Lauer did not immediately respond publicly to the announcement of his firing. 
 
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 The married father of three began his journalism career in television markets throughout the country before returning to his native New York and eventually working for the local NBC station WNBC as a co-anchor of the morning news program. 
 
 In 1992, he began filling in on "Today" and was promoted as a news anchor two years later before taking over for Bryant Gumbel in 1997. Paired with co-anchor Katie Couric, Lauer became a marquee name with the network, and helped "Today" remain a ratings powerhouse with countless interviews of world leaders and celebrities and the coverage of presidential campaigns and Olympic Games. 
 
 Before teaming up with Guthrie, Lauer also shared his "Today" co-anchor duties with Meredith Vieira and Ann Curry, who tearfully exited the show in 2012. The New York Times reported that Curry felt humiliated by a "boy's club atmosphere" at the show, and believed Lauer was indifferent to her concerns. 
 
 Variety reported last year that his contract with NBC was extended through 2018 for $20 million a year — keeping him one of the highest-paid anchors in the industry. 
 
 Early Wednesday, President Donald Trump noted Lauer's firing on Twitter, writing, "Wow, Matt Lauer was just fired from NBC for 'inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace.' But when will the top executives at NBC & Comcast be fired for putting out so much Fake News." 
 
 Lauer's firing comes after NBC News also ended the employment of its senior vice president for booking, Matt Zimmerman, after learning about "inappropriate conduct" with more than one woman at NBC Universal, the parent company of NBC. 
 
 NBC News also cut ties with senior political analyst Mark Halperin after multiple reports surfaced that he sexually harassed at least a dozen women while serving as political director for ABC News. Halperin apologized on Twitter for his behavior.
– Another stunner involving sexual misconduct: NBC has fired longtime Today anchor Matt Lauer over "inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace," per a statement from NBC News Chairman Andy Lack. Details about the allegation weren't immediately available, but the network received the complaint just this week. Co-host Savannah Guthrie read the statement on the air Wednesday, reports the Washington Post. Lack's memo says the complaint was the first lodged against the 59-year-old Lauer, but "we were also presented with reason to believe this may not have been an isolated" incident. "We are heartbroken," said Guthrie, who was accompanied by Hoda Kotb, per NBC's own coverage. Lauer began anchoring the morning show in 1997. Kotb said she "loved him as a friend and a colleague," adding that it was "hard to reconcile the man who walks in every day" with the man described in the complaint. In a tweet, the show said it received the "detailed complaint from a colleague" on Monday night and fired Lauer after looking into it. At CNN, media writer Brian Stelter observes that the move "removes one of the most recognizable personalities on television, and at a time when morning news programs are increasingly important to network news divisions."