Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Woman Accuses Matt Lauer of Rape; Former Anchor Denies Claim
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
October 9, 2019

Share

NEW YORK — A woman who worked at NBC News claimed that former anchor Matt Lauer raped her at a hotel while on assignment for the Sochi Olympics, an encounter the former “Today” show host claimed was consensual.

“It was nonconsensual in the sense that I was too drunk to consent. It was nonconsensual in that I said, multiple times, that I didn’t want to have anal sex.” — Brooke Nevils
The claim outlined by Brooke Nevils in Ronan Farrow’s book, “Catch and Kill,” puts a name and details behind the event that led to Lauer’s firing by NBC in 2017. It also provoked the first public response from Lauer, who said in a defiant and graphic letter made public by his lawyer that “my silence was a mistake.”
Variety first reported Nevils’ charges after obtaining a copy of Farrow’s book. The Associated Press typically does not identify alleged victims of sexual assault, unless they step forward publicly as Nevils has done.
Nevils, who was working for Meredith Vieira in Sochi, met her for drinks one night and Lauer joined them. Nevils said she had six shots of vodka and wound up going to Lauer’s room.
She said that Lauer pushed her onto a bed and asked if she liked anal sex. Nevils said she declined several times, but then Lauer “just did it.” She described the encounter as “excruciatingly painful.”
“It was nonconsensual in the sense that I was too drunk to consent,” Nevils told Farrow, according to Variety. “It was nonconsensual in that I said, multiple times, that I didn’t want to have anal sex.”
In his letter, Lauer admitted to his extramarital affair with Nevils. He said on that night in Sochi that they consensually performed a variety of sexual acts.

Lauer Said the Night in Sochi Was the First of Several Sexual Encounters

“She was a fully enthusiastic and willing partner,” he wrote. “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.”
Lauer’s defense of his behavior extends beyond his relationship with Nevils. He said he has “never assaulted anyone or forced anyone to have sex. Period.”
He also acknowledges other extramarital encounters, and criticized the women involved for having “abandoned shared responsibility” for the affairs to shield themselves from blame behind false allegations.
“They have avoided having to look at a boyfriend, a husband or a child in the eye and say, ‘I cheated,'” Lauer said. “And I will no longer provide them the shelter of my silence.”
Lauer said the night in Sochi was the first of several sexual encounters he had with Nevils over several months, including one in his dressing room at NBC, which “showed terrible judgment on my part.”
Nevils’ lawyer did not immediately return a message for comment on Lauer’s letter Wednesday.
Eleanor McManus, who co-founded the group Press Forward to support victims of sexual abuse in the news industry, said Lauer’s letter was “unbelievable.

NBC News Abruptly Fired Lauer for ‘Inappropriate Sexual Conduct’

“Lauer’s statement demonstrates not only his lack of remorse, but his lack of understanding of sexual harassment and the #MeToo movement,” said McManus, who said she was harassed by journalist Mark Halperin (who lost jobs at NBC and elsewhere because of these and other accusations). “Nowhere in his letter does Lauer acknowledge the power he yielded as a celebrity and the star of NBC’s highest-rated show. The two people in that hotel room in Sochi did not have equal power.”

“Matt Lauer’s conduct was appalling, horrific and reprehensible, as we said at the time. That’s why he was fired within 24 hours of us first learning of the complaint. Our hearts break again for our colleague.” — NBC News statement 
NBC News abruptly fired Lauer for “inappropriate sexual conduct.”
“Matt Lauer’s conduct was appalling, horrific and reprehensible, as we said at the time,” NBC News said in a statement Wednesday. “That’s why he was fired within 24 hours of us first learning of the complaint. Our hearts break again for our colleague.”
Nevils’ story was reported Wednesday on the show Lauer hosted for two decades. His former co-host, Savannah Guthrie, called it shocking and appalling.
“We’re disturbed to our core,” Guthrie said.
Lauer said in his letter that he ended the affair poorly and understands how that must have made Nevils feel.
He said that he hadn’t responded publicly before to allegations in order to spare his family pain, but that now he has their support to address them publicly.
“Anyone who knows me will tell you I am a very private person,” Lauer wrote. “I had no desire to write this, but I had no choice.”

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

US Supreme Court Backs South Carolina Effort to Defund Planned Parenthood

DON'T MISS

4 Million Acres of California Forests Could Lose Protection. What Trump’s ‘Roadless Rule’ Repeal Could Do

DON'T MISS

Israeli Settlers Raid West Bank Town, Troops Kill 3 Palestinians

DON'T MISS

West Nile Virus Detected in Mosquitoes in Fresno County

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Netanyahu’s Trial Should Be Canceled

DON'T MISS

St. Agnes’ New Chief Medical Officer Is a Kidney Care Expert

DON'T MISS

US Military to Create Two New Border Zones, Officials Say

DON'T MISS

Trump Signals US May Ease Iran Oil Sanction Enforcement to Help Rebuild Country

DON'T MISS

CIA Says Intelligence Indicates Iran’s Nuclear Program Severely Damaged

DON'T MISS

Upscale Woodward Park Area Apartments Sell for $19 Million

UP NEXT

Cuomo Concedes to Mamdani in New York City Democratic Mayoral Contest

UP NEXT

Mamdani Holds Lead Over Cuomo in Democratic Primary for NYC Mayor

UP NEXT

Clovis Man Sentenced to 8 Years in Federal Prison in Deadly Fentanyl Case

UP NEXT

Victims Identified as Death Toll Climbs to 8 in Lake Tahoe Boating Tragedy

UP NEXT

Florida to Build ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Detention Center for Migrants in Everglades

UP NEXT

Americans Worry Conflict With Iran Could Escalate, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

UP NEXT

Advisory Warns of ‘Heightened Threat Environment’ in US After Iran Strikes

UP NEXT

Amazon’s Prime Day 2025 Levels Up With Four Days of Deals Starting July 8

UP NEXT

Voice of America Parent Terminates Over 600 More Staff in Likely Death Knell

UP NEXT

US Court Lets Trump Keep Control of California National Guard for Now

West Nile Virus Detected in Mosquitoes in Fresno County

16 hours ago

Trump Says Netanyahu’s Trial Should Be Canceled

16 hours ago

St. Agnes’ New Chief Medical Officer Is a Kidney Care Expert

16 hours ago

US Military to Create Two New Border Zones, Officials Say

17 hours ago

Trump Signals US May Ease Iran Oil Sanction Enforcement to Help Rebuild Country

17 hours ago

CIA Says Intelligence Indicates Iran’s Nuclear Program Severely Damaged

18 hours ago

Upscale Woodward Park Area Apartments Sell for $19 Million

19 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: Learn the Latest on the Caleb Quick Murder Hearings

19 hours ago

Trump Administration Orders CA to Strip Trans Athlete of Medals

19 hours ago

Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant Reboot Fast-Tracked to 2027

19 hours ago

US Supreme Court Backs South Carolina Effort to Defund Planned Parenthood

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way on Thursday for South Carolina to strip Planned Parenthood of funding under the Me...

1 minute ago

A general view of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, U.S., November 26, 2021. Picture taken November 26, 2021. (Reuters File)
1 minute ago

US Supreme Court Backs South Carolina Effort to Defund Planned Parenthood

Tahoe National Forest
15 hours ago

4 Million Acres of California Forests Could Lose Protection. What Trump’s ‘Roadless Rule’ Repeal Could Do

Palestinians gather to receive aid supplies in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, June 17, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
16 hours ago

Israeli Settlers Raid West Bank Town, Troops Kill 3 Palestinians

West Nile virus mosquito
16 hours ago

West Nile Virus Detected in Mosquitoes in Fresno County

President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 7, 2025. (Reuters File)
16 hours ago

Trump Says Netanyahu’s Trial Should Be Canceled

16 hours ago

St. Agnes’ New Chief Medical Officer Is a Kidney Care Expert

A U.S. Border Patrol vehicle patrols along the border wall, following the establishment of a 260-mile military zone along the southern U.S. border in New Mexico and Texas as part of the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration, in Sunland Park, New Mexico, U.S., May 20, 2025. (Reuters File)
17 hours ago

US Military to Create Two New Border Zones, Officials Say

Oil tankers pass through the Strait of Hormuz, December 21, 2018. (Reuters File)
17 hours ago

Trump Signals US May Ease Iran Oil Sanction Enforcement to Help Rebuild Country

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend