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---
title: Brian Williams Suspended for 6 Months
description: NBC released a statement Tuesday saying that Brian Williams has been suspended without pay for 6 months.
canonical: https://time.com/3704299/brian-williams-suspended/
author: Tessa Berenson
article:opinion: false
article:content_tier: free
article:published_time: 2015-02-11T01:09:42.000Z
article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:05:43.418Z
article:section: Entertainment
og:title: Brian Williams Suspended for 6 Months
og:description: NBC released a statement Tuesday saying that Brian Williams has been suspended without pay for 6 months.
og:url: https://time.com/3704299/brian-williams-suspended/
og:site_name: TIME
og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3ab8ad0e5bbe51a4/69877e76cd68488d140999d5/brian-williams2.jpg?branch=production&amp;width=3840&amp;quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;crop=16:9
og:image:width: 1200
og:image:height: 675
og:image:alt: Late Night with Seth Meyers - Season 1
og:type: article
twitter:card: summary_large_image
twitter:title: Brian Williams Suspended for 6 Months
twitter:description: NBC released a statement Tuesday saying that Brian Williams has been suspended without pay for 6 months.
twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3ab8ad0e5bbe51a4/69877e76cd68488d140999d5/brian-williams2.jpg?branch=production&amp;width=3840&amp;quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;crop=16:9
---

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3ab8ad0e5bbe51a4/69877e76cd68488d140999d5/brian-williams2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9)


# Brian Williams Suspended from NBC for 6 Months


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by 

[Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)


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## Tessa Berenson


Feb 11, 2015 1:09 AM UTC

![Late Night with Seth Meyers - Season 1](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3ab8ad0e5bbe51a4/69877e76cd68488d140999d5/brian-williams2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=3:2)

Brian Williams during an interview on Late Night With Seth Meyers on July 7, 2014.

Brian Williams during an interview on Late Night With Seth Meyers on July 7, 2014.Lloyd Bishop—NBC/Getty Images

![Tessa Berenson](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltec0484fe1b20c577/698a0ced86f68ed9d96ee9e6/tessa-berenson-author-2020.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1:1)

by 

[Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)


![Tessa Berenson](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltec0484fe1b20c577/698a0ced86f68ed9d96ee9e6/tessa-berenson-author-2020.jpg?branch=production&width=96&quality=75&auto=webp)

## Tessa Berenson


Feb 11, 2015 1:09 AM UTC

Brian Williams has been suspended from NBC for six months without pay.

The network released a statement Tuesday saying that the _Nightly News_ anchor has been suspended as managing editor and anchor effective immediately, and Lester Holt will continue to substitute for him.

[Williams has been the subject of controversy ](http://time.com/3703787/know-right-now-brian-williams/)after it became clear that he had told a false account of coming under enemy fire in Iraq in 2003\. The statement called his remarks “wrong and completely inappropriate”:

---

> “”

---

In December, Williams signed a five-year contract with NBC worth $10 million a year, [according to the New York _Times_](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/11/business/media/brian-williams-suspended-by-nbc-news-for-six-months.html).

### See Brian Williams Through The Years

![Brian Williams Senior Year 1977Mater Dei High School, New Monmouth, NJAs the Editorial Editor for the school newspaperCredit: Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt09013b7f28515658/69877e4ef887dc0954e8a017/brian-williams-newspaper-editor.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

Brian Williams was the Editorial Editor for his school newspaper seen here on the far right during his Senior Year at Mater Dei High School in New Monmouth, N.J. in 1977. Seth Poppel—Yearbook Library

![GEORGE W. BUSH SPEAKS WITH MEDIA MEMBERS ABOARD HIS CAMPAIGN PLANE.](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3e318a0f2202e16a/69877e22e20a876a0da84fdd/brian-williams-nbc-009.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

From Left: Brian Williams, President George W. Bush and AP writer Glenn Johnson talk aboard Bush's campaign plane in Florence S.C. on Feb. 17, 2000. Reuters

![BROKAW SIGNS OFF](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte0a1553bfa94a104/69877e215f570f1be2b15263/brian-williams-nbc-006.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

From Left: Brian Williams poses with NBC Anchor Tom Brokaw in New York City prior to Brokaw's last broadcast on Dec. 1, 2004. Richard Drew—AP


![TV KATRINA COVERAGE](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt21cf27e3653df177/69877e21f887dc6f4ae89fb3/brian-williams-nbc-007.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

Brian Williams during a break in the "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams" show in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005. Dwaine Scott—NBC/AP

![NBC News](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb5a74d8d34146302/69877e200b72e3edc86dd933/brian-williams-nbc-002.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

Brian Williams reports from Camp Liberty in Baghdad on March 8, 2007. Jeff Riggins—NBC/Getty Images

![Inside the Obama White House: Brian Williams Reports](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc1f91a58ddd2112f/69877e1e2dce01e0d09dd6b7/brian-williams-nbc-001.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

From Left: President Barack Obama and Brian Williams takes a look at what happens in the White House and the West Wing during a day in the life of the Obama administration on May 29, 2009. Subrata De—NBC/Getty Images


![Saturday Night Live](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c6288e6c33232f9/69877e20a988ca23616ac581/brian-williams-nbc-003.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

From Left: Amy Poehler, Brian Williams and Seth Meyers on 'Saturday Night LIve' on Nov. 3, 2007. Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images

![The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon - Season 1](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta07f6c856da04ffa/69877e21524fc01487dec5c4/brian-williams-nbc-008.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp)

Jimmy Fallon and Brian Williams "Slow Jam the News" on 'The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon' on Dec. 2, 2014. Douglas Gorenstein—NBC/Getty Images

!["Girls" Season Four Premiere - After Party](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d48df96c5ec05a1/69877e2055a8590401a85b2d/brian-williams-nbc-004.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

From Left: Brian Williams, Allison Williams and Jane Stoddard Williams attend the "Girls" season four series premiere after party at The Museum of Natural History on Jan. 5, 2015. Jamie McCarthy—Getty Images


![On Jan, 29, 2015, Brian Williams accompanied Army Command Sergeant Major Tim Terpak, pictured here next to Williams, to a hockey game at Madison Square Garden in New York City](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt918826b2f0a8811b/69877e215f570f2caab1525f/brian-williams-nbc-005.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

Brian Williams embraces Army Command Sergeant Major Tim Terpak at a hockey game at Madison Square Garden in New York on Jan. 29, 2015, where Terpak was honored. Williams admitted to conflating events when describing his experiences in combat with Terpak during the Iraq war. On Feb. 10, he was suspended without pay for six months. James Devaney—GC Images

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