The latest allegations against former “Today” host, Matt Lauer, are incredibly harrowing. The former NBC co-anchor is accused of anally raping a colleague, Brooke Nevils, at the Sochi Olympics in 2014.
Ronan Farrow’s newest book “Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and A Conspiracy to Protect Predators” contains an exclusive interview with Nevils and even suggests that NBC actively tried to cover up the accusations against Lauer for years.
And now new accusations against Matt Lauer just went from bad to a whole lot worse.
Matt Lauer was one of the highest-profile journalists exposed in the Me Too Movement era. But it wasn’t until last week that we found out the extent of the horrific allegations against Lauer that ended his career in 2018.
After a night of drinking with both co-anchors of the “Today” show, Meredith Vieira and Matt Lauer, at the hotel bar during the Sochi Olympics in 2014, Nevils admitted she was intoxicated from five shots of vodka according to Farrow’s new book. Lauer invited her to his room and Nevils told Farrow she “had no reason to suspect Lauer would be anything but friendly based on prior experience.”
She claims Lauer was wearing a T-shirt and boxers – pushed his body against hers and forcibly kissed Nevils. He pushed her onto the bed “flipping her over, asking if she liked anal sex,” and said no repeatedly in the process.
Now we’re learning about another allegation that Lauer had an affair with a “well-respected” NBC star that is currently anonymous because the woman signed a nondisclosure agreement when she exited NBC.
A source told Page Six, “Matt had influence over everyone’s career – one word and your career would be sunk. I know there was a clear imbalance of power in this woman’s relationship with Matt.”
Farrow reports that the unnamed former NBC broadcaster claimed Lauer and another NBC executive propositioned her and made lewd comments about her during broadcasts. She said, “I was like meat on a hook… I would walk into work with a knot in my stomach. I would come home and cry.”
The anonymous NBC employee alleged that when she turned the men down, she was “punished” and got fewer assignments, adding: “My career took a sharp nosedive.”
To make matters worse, Lauer’s now-ex-wife, Annette Roque, claims she suffered a personal “hell” during her 20-year marriage to the “Today” co-anchor. An insider revealed, “There were cracks in the marriage from very early on. Matt has always been a ladies’ man, and there were affairs in the beginning.”
Lauer has already admitted to having “consensual” sex with Nevils so obviously he was cheating on Roque.
The source also said Roque “stayed for Matt’s career – and, more important, for their kids,” while also adding, “Annette wanted out of the marriage for a long time.”
Clearly, there’s a pattern with Lauer’s sexual misconduct behavior. If the allegations are true then he’s no less than a sexual predator who used his fame and power at NBC to leverage sexual relationships with colleagues. If you don’t obey him then you’ll be disposed of at the network.
Lauer seems totally tone-deaf on the issue.
Following the breaking news about Farrow’s new book, Lauer issued a statement that was incredibly bizarre.
He wrote, “I have never assaulted anyone or forced anyone to have sex. Period, My silence has been a mistake. Old stories are being recycled, titillating details are being added, and a dangerous and defamatory new allegation is being made. All are being spread as part of a promotional effort to sell a book. It’s outrageous. So, after not speaking out to protect my children, it is now with their full support I say ‘enough.'”
Not only is this victim-blaming but it’s also slut-shaming, right? Is Lauer actually alluding that he did nothing wrong while committing infidelity? Are we actually supposed to think of him as the victim?