Brian Williams started embellishing his stories because he felt insecure following in Tom Brokaw's very large footsteps at NBC, according to a new report. The network handed Williams a six-month suspension in February after he acknowledged he had lied about being on board a helicopter that came under fire while reporting from Iraq in 2003. But according to a report in Vanity Fair, Williams started exaggerating his stories because he felt insecure about Brokaw, whom he succeeded at Nightly News in 2004. 'I always felt he needed to jack up his stories because he was trying so hard to overcome his insecurities,' one executive told the publication.Williams was suspended from NBC in February after it emerged he'd lied about being in a helicopter that was shot down in Iraq in 2003A new report in Vanity Fair claims Williams lied because he felt insecure taking over from beloved anchor Tom Brokaw at the Nightly NewsWhile some execs saw his lying as 'quirks' of his personality, the tales left Brokaw 'incensed' and he ultimately didn't support Williams in FebruaryAfter he was accused of lying, Williams wondered if he had a brain tumorBut other NBC employees said Williams had always been out of his depth because of his lack of experience and disinterest in 'hard' news
'_ treated that anchor chair as a public trust,' a former employee said.