NBC Nightly News Anchor Brian Williams Suspended for Six Months

Late Tuesday evening, entertainment news website Deadline reported that NBC News suspended Nightly News anchor Brian Williams. The suspension is a lengthy one for Williams after he announced last week that he would temporarily leave the anchor chair to allow NBC executive to investigate claims he made while covering news stories.

An NBC memo was leaked to Deadline:

We have decided today to suspend Brian Williams as Managing Editor and Anchor of NBC Nightly News for six months. The suspension will be without pay and is effective immediately.  We let Brian know of our decision earlier today. Lester Holt will continue to substitute Anchor the NBC Nightly News.

 

Williams has been embroiled in controversy over the past few weeks for exaggerating events while he was covering the Iraq War in 2003 for NBC News.

Last week, Williams apologized for saying he was in a helicopter that was hit by a grenade while covering the Iraq War in 2003. Instead, he was in a group of helicopters and another was hit, and some veterans involved in the mission called him out on it.

Information from the Associated Press used in this report