Slow jam slowdown: Brian Williams steps aside from NBC newscast

NBC News anchor Brian Williams said Saturday he won’t be leading the network’s nightly newscast “for the next several days.”

Williams’ move comes as the network investigates a false story he told about coming under RPG fire while aboard a helicopter in Iraq in 2003. Williams’ reporting on Hurricane Katrina has also come under scrutiny.

Here’s the full statement from Williams:

In the midst of a career spent covering and consuming news, it has become painfully apparent to me that I am presently too much a part of the news, due to my actions.

As Managing Editor of NBC Nightly News, I have decided to take myself off of my daily broadcast for the next several days, and Lester Holt has kindly agreed to sit in for me to allow us to adequately deal with this issue. Upon my return, I will continue my career-long effort to be worthy of the trust of those who place their trust in us.

You might not be familiar with Williams’ work as a news anchor: just 15 percent of Americans under 30 were able to identify him in a study last year. But you might know him as the father of Allison Williams, a cast member on HBO’s “Girls,” or for his “Slow Jam The News” segments with Jimmy Fallon on the Tonight Show

With Williams stepping aside, many people were asking one question: when will the slow jams come back?

Jordan Fabian is Fusion’s politics editor, writing about campaigns, Congress, immigration, and more. When he’s not working, you can find him at the ice rink or at home with his wife, Melissa.