Zola Ray is an Editorial Assistant for Newsweek. Her writing has also been featured on Hello Giggles, Bustle, For Harriet and Elite Daily to name a few. In the past, Zola's writing has

covered the topic of social justice with an emphasis on race and feminism. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of Pennsylvania. Zola originally hails from

Brooklyn, New York and currently resides on Long Island. 

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.

"The Daily Show" resurrected a clip of the skit after news of Lauer's firing broke. The four-minute segment is a mock investigation into co-host Willie Geist supposedly hurting Lauer's

feelings by slapping his behind with a newspaper in front of studio surveillance cameras.

Throwback to 2012 when Matt Lauer was the “real victim” of sexual harassment on the Today show 🤔 pic.twitter.com/mYdnhEV2wv

This was part of "Rossen Reports," a "Today" feature in which journalist Jeff Rossen investigates various situations. In this case, the entire report was a parody of an issue that is now

exploding in the #MeToo campaign.

"Look, this kind of behavior happens all of the time between guys on football fields and huddles," Rossen says at the beginning of the feature. "But is this really appropriate for the

workplace?"

After showing footage of "the smack heard 'round the studio," Rossen gives Lauer space for "breaking his silence," and Lauer pretends to have hurt feelings from the smack.

In an interview with emotional piano music playing under it, Lauer pretends to be shaken by the incident, which he calls "uninitiated."

"I wasn't doing anything differently, I wasn't wearing a different cologne," Lauer says.

Geist says the slap was simply "a touch of the lower back." Coincidentally, Lauer's firing came the day that Minnesota Public Radio star Garrison Keillor was also fired for alleged

inappropriate behavior. Keillor explained one of the incidents by claiming he put his hand "on a woman's bare back" while comforting her, and his hand slid up her open shirt.

Lauer, the biggest star of NBC's morning show, now faces accusations of harassing female colleagues and grilling them about their sex lives. A damning Variety report said Lauer gave a sex

toy to a colleague with a note about how he wanted her to use it, and that he had a button under his desk to lock the door to his office, where he allegedly exposed himself and made unwanted

advances to women.

Zola Ray is an Editorial Assistant for Newsweek. Her writing has also been featured on Hello Giggles, Bustle, For Harriet and Elite Daily to name a few. In the past, Zola's writing has

covered the topic of social justice with an emphasis on race and feminism. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of Pennsylvania. Zola originally hails from

Brooklyn, New York and currently resides on Long Island. 

Zola Ray is an Editorial Assistant for Newsweek. Her writing has also been featured on Hello Giggles, Bustle, For Harriet and Elite Daily to name a few. In the past, Zola's writing has

covered the topic of social justice with an emphasis on race and feminism. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of Pennsylvania. Zola originally hails from

Brooklyn, New York and currently resides on Long Island.