NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) — Brian Williams, the face of NBC News, has been suspended for sixth months and had his name removed from the "NBC Nightly News" in the wake of revelations that cast doubt on William's credibility.
Williams was dragged down by the week-long controversy over his story of having his helicopter come under fire from rocket propelled grenade fire while visiting Iraq in 2003. However, members of the military unit tasked with flying those helicopters were quoted by military newspaper Stars & Stripes that Williams was nowhere near the incident in question.
Williams has since characterized the event as a mistaken recollection, but he has told the story on multiple occasions, including during an appearance on David Letterman in 2013.
"Two of our four helicopters were hit by ground fire, including the one I was in, RPG and AK47," he told Letterman. "We figure out how to land safely … we landed very quickly and hard."
William's fall was precipitous. Up until this week, Williams was the country's best paid new anchor and widely considered to be one of the most trusted public figures in the U.S., slipping from rank 23 to No. 835, according to The Marketing Arm, a unit of Omnicom Group that tracks celebrity perception through online polls of consumers. – Staff Writers
