NBC/Lisa BergBoo-boo alert! Is NBC's fab nice guy Matt Lauer guilty of missteps as a young man himself, activities not too dissimilar from what he just helped crucify Michael Phelps over? In a Dateline interview airing this weekend, Lauer grills Phelps relentlessly, like he's a big criminal or something, for the exact times, dates, emotions and motivations Phelps experienced while taking that now-infamous bong hit.
It's really pathetic stuff. As I said this morning, the country's really out of moralistic control over a pretty minor thing, like presidents and news interviewers don't have transgressions, too:
Yep, according to those who went to college with Lauer at Ohio University, the future Today show stud (whom I heart) was a pretty active rebel himself who reportedly had habits his audience members today might find rather alarming. Too funny. Could that be why Matt never graduated? Who the hell knows.
And for all of you judgmental naysayers out there who are screaming right about now that Mr. L.'s college-age funny biz has no relevance to his capacity as a current-day interview, I beg to differ.
Think about it: You're seated in the established chair of NBC News, peppering a college-age kid for a stupid mistake he's even calling a "stupid mistake," and you can't once say, "Hey, I did stuff like that, too; we all do things maybe we shouldn't"? It's like when Barbara Walters asks Ricky Martin and Tom Cruise if they're gay. When are these timid celebrities going to toughen up and say, "Hmm, Barbara, are you?" or "Hmm, Matt, you ever done any drugs?"
I really think this age of "the media's poop doesn't stink" has got to end. Anybody with me on this?
Oh, for the official journalistic record, Lauer's rep, thus far, has not commented. And even further J-school-type disclosures: I've smoked pot, too. Hated it. Makes you say stupid crap, like I don't do that enough, already.