He’s safe at home.
Embattled newsman Brian Williams made his first public appearance Saturday night since he was suspended from the NBC anchor desk for telling tall tales about his time in Iraq — at a fund-raiser for his old high school.
Williams donated $50,000 in response to an appeal by supporters of Mater Dei HS in New Monmouth, NJ, which needs the cash to keep its doors open.
Williams, a 1977 graduate, attended the Save the Seraphs Gala at Shore Casino in Atlantic Highlands with his wife, Jane, according to the Asbury Park Press.
“This is Mater Dei. It’s been a very, very important part of my life,” Williams told The Two River Times at the gala. “It’s a wonderful school, and it should be open for a long time, for everybody.”
Williams was suspended last month without pay for six months for lies about coming under enemy fire while covering the Iraq war.
He may be damaged goods in the news industry, but the Mater Dei community welcomed Williams back with open arms.
“He had a lot of friends he went to school with,” fund-raiser co-chair Maria Buzzanco said. “He was happy to come back to the Shore Casino because he went to proms there. He was greeted with warm hugs. Everyone was telling him how much they support him as well, and thanked him for coming.”
The anchor-in-limbo appeared upbeat as he posed for pictures with guests.
The event sold out, with 464 people paying $125 apiece for tickets, inching the school closer to its $1 million fund-raising goal.
Meanwhile, at NBC, fill-in Lester Holt has held his own in the high-stakes ratings war. NBC is even re-airing its “Nightly News” broadcast in overnight time periods to boost its numbers. The added viewers could make the difference between first and second place for Holt.
An NBC News spokeswoman said the plan to air a second run of “Nightly News” had been in the works since September and was not related to the situation with Williams.
In a statement, the network said the later airings were added because “we believed there would be an appetite for ‘NBC Nightly News’ in addition to its regular time slot, and that has proven to be true: The viewer response has been overwhelmingly positive.”