Matt Lauer Debuts Arm Tattoo About Hatred

Matt Lauer, perhaps emboldened by the act of going public with his long list of complaints about Ronan Farrow, on Wednesday let his new tattoo show. In a photo obtained by Us, the former Today co-anchor is seen driving in New York with the phrase "Hatred corrodes the container it’s carried in" inked in cursive on his right forearm. The phrase was uttered by former senator Alan Simpson at George HW Bush's funeral in 2018. USA Today has the full quote:

• "So the punch line for George Herbert Walker Bush is this. You would have wanted him on your side. He never lost his sense of humor. Humor is the universal solvent against the abrasive elements of life. That's what humor is. He never hated anyone. He knew what his mother and my mother always knew. Hatred corrodes the container it's carried on."

Us notes that the 62-year-old had previously spoken about maybe wanting a tattoo. While still employed with NBC News, Lauer in July 2014 said he was "on the fence" about getting one during a discussion on Today, spurring the trending Twitter hashtag #MattTattooYes. Vanity Fair seems to think he wanted the tat unveiled, considering the "convenient poses" he was holding while being photographed. The body art spurred the Los Angeles Times to challenge readers to "try not to roll your eyes" upon seeing it. In other Lauer news, Brooke Nevils, the woman whose rape accusation Lauer denies, tweeted in response to his column about Farrow, "DARVO: Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender." (More Matt Lauer stories.)