SMH: Matt Lauer Accused Of Raping NBC Employee At The 2014 Olympics

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Matt Lauer Accused Of Raping An NBC Employee During The Olympics

In Ronan Farrow’s new book–which centers around his investigation of Harvey Weinstein—Matt Lauer is alleged to have raped an NBC employee at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

According to reports from Variety, who got an early copy of the book, former NBC News employee Brooke Nevils alleges that Lauer “anally raped her” in his hotel room.

“It was nonconsensual in the sense that I was too drunk to consent,” she said. “It was nonconsensual in that I said, multiple times, that I didn’t want to have anal sex.”

Nevils says she was allegedly invited to Lauer’s room following a night of drinks. Once inside, the former NBC employee alleges that Lauer pushed her against the door and started kissing her. He then allegedly pushed her onto the bed, flipped her over, and asked if she “liked anal sex.” Nevils told Farrow that she then declined multiple times, which is when he “just did it.”

Farrow alleges in the book that this was all “no secret,” with Brooke Nevils later moving to Peacock Productions to be a producer.

“Sources close to Lauer emphasized that she sometimes initiated contact. What is not in dispute is that Nevils, like several of the women I’d spoken to, had further sexual encounters with the man she said assaulted her. ‘This is what I blame myself most for,’ she says to Farrow. ‘It was completely transactional. It was not a relationship.’”

On Wednesday morning, Today hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb responded to these awful allegations, expressing support for Nevils.

“We don’t know the facts in all of this, but they are not allegations of an affair,” Kotb said, according to Deadline. “They are allegations of a crime. I think that is shocking to all of us here who have sat with Matt for many, many years.”

Matt Lauer also responded to these reports on Wednesday morning, denies allegations of rape and saying his “affair” with Nevils was consensual.

Read what Lauer had to say in response to these new allegations, via Variety, below:

“In a new book, it is alleged that an extramarital, but consensual, sexual encounter I have previously admitted having, was in fact an assault. It is categorically false, ignores the facts, and defies common sense.

I had an extramarital affair with Brooke Nevils in 2014. It began when she came to my hotel room very late one night in Sochi, Russia. We engaged in a variety of sexual acts. We performed oral sex on each other, we had vaginal sex, and we had anal sex. Each act was mutual and completely consensual.

The story Brooke tells is filled with false details intended only to create the impression this was an abusive encounter. Nothing could be further from the truth. There was absolutely nothing aggressive about that encounter. Brooke did not do or say anything to object. She certainly did not cry. She was a fully enthusiastic and willing partner. At no time did she behave in a way that made it appear she was incapable of consent. She seemed to know exactly what she wanted to do. The only concern she expressed was that someone might see her leaving my room. She embraced me at the door as she left.

This encounter, which she now falsely claims was an assault, was the beginning of our affair. It was the first of many sexual encounters between us over the next several months. After we returned to New York, we both communicated by text and by phone. We met for drinks, and she met me at my apartment on multiple occasions to continue our affair. Our meetings were arranged mutually. At no time, during or after her multiple visits to my apartment, did she express in words or actions any discomfort with being there, or with our affair.”