Matt Lauer allegedly gave a colleague a sex toy, exposed himself to a female staffer, and identified which 'Today' show co-hosts he'd like to sleep with

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• Ex-NBC host Matt Lauer has been accused by multiple current and former colleagues of sexual misconduct.
• Lauer reportedly gave female colleagues inappropriate gifts, exposed himself, and quizzed them on who they had slept with in the office.
• Lauer was fired by NBC on Wednesday after the network received a complaint of "inappropriate sexual behavior."

Matt Lauer has been accused by current and former colleagues of multiple instances of sexual harassment and engaging in a pattern of inappropriate behavior during his time at NBC, according to a Variety investigation published Wednesday.

Lauer allegedly gifted a sex toy to one female colleague, accompanied by a note about how he wanted to use it on her. He also allegedly exposed himself to another female employee after summoning her to his office, then reprimanded her for not participating in a sexual act, according to Variety.

Lauer, a host on NBC's "Today," was fired by the network earlier on Wednesday after receiving a complaint from an employee alleging "inappropriate sexual behavior." NBC News chairman Andy Lack said in a statement that it had reviewed the situation and had "reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident."

According to Variety, which interviewed dozens of current and former NBC staffers, Lauer would often partake in crude behavior, including quizzing female employees about who they had slept with, and playing the game "f---, marry, kill," in which he would name female co-hosts he wanted to sleep with.

Lauer, who is married, would often comment on women's bodies and looks, and was known to send lewd text messages, more than 10 current and former NBC employees told the outlet.

"There were a lot of consensual relationships, but that's still a problem because of the power he held," one former producer told Variety. "He couldn't sleep around town with celebrities or on the road with random people, because he's Matt Lauer and he's married. So he'd have to do it within his stable, where he exerted power, and he knew people wouldn't ever complain."

Other former employees said they were unsure of how to handle Lauer, and feared they could jeopardize their careers if they did not return Lauer's advances.

"There is such shame with Matt Lauer not liking you," one former staffer said. "I did this special with him and we are traveling and I had a cold sore on my lip and I heard him say to Bryant Gumble, 'She has this really ugly cold sore on her lip,' like that was something to be ashamed of. He was just really cruel."

Several staffers told Variety they had complained about Lauer's behavior to network executives, who they say ignored them. Both NBC and Lauer declined to comment to Variety.