Hoda Kotb, Savannah Guthrie, Television, Today

Today Anchors Respond to Matt Lauer Rape Allegations: ‘This Is Shocking and Appalling’

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Matt Lauer and his former colleagues at NBC’s Today show have addressed the rape allegations made against Lauer by a former NBC employee as part of Ronan Farrow’s new book, Catch and Kill.

Overnight on Tuesday, Variety reported that Catch and Kill features an interview between Farrow and former NBC News employee Brooke Nevils, who alleges that Lauer anally raped her at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. Her complaint against Lauer led to his firing from NBC in 2017. Nevils’ identity was kept anonymous at the time at her request; this is the first time the details of her allegations are being made public.

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

Farrow’s book also says that after Lauer’s firing, Nevils learned that Noah Oppenheim, president of NBC News, and Andrew Lack, chairman of NBC News and MSNBC, “were emphasizing that the incident hadn’t been ‘criminal’ or an ‘assault.'” Nevils eventually took medical leave and a seven-figure payment.

Lauer denied wrongdoing in an open letter provided to Variety by his lawyer. “In a new book, it is alleged that an extramarital, but consensual, sexual encounter I have previously admitted having, was in fact an assault,” Lauer said. “It is categorically false, ignores the facts, and defies common sense.” Representatives for Lauer did not respond to TV Guide’s request for comment.

In a statement shared on Today, NBC News emphasized that it had responded swiftly to Nevils’ complaint: “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’ Morgan Radford addressed Variety‘s report on Today on Wednesday morning, followed by a response from anchors Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb.

“I feel like we owe it to our viewers to pause for a moment,” Guthrie said. “This is shocking and appalling, and I honestly don’t even know what to say about it. I want to say that I know it wasn’t easy for our colleague Brooke to come forward then, it’s not easy now, and we support her and any women who have come forward with claims. And it’s just very painful for all of us at NBC and who are at the Today show, and, you know, it’s very, very, very difficult.”

Kotb then recalled their first broadcast following the news of Lauer’s firing in 2017. “We don’t know all the facts in all of this, but they’re not allegations of an affair, they’re allegations of a crime, and I think that’s shocking to all of us here who have sat with Matt for many, many years,” Kotb said. “I think we’re going to continue to process this part of this horrific story. And as you said, our thoughts are with Brooke. It’s not easy what she did to come forward. It’s not easy at all.”

See Today‘s full report and Guthrie and Kotb’s responses below.

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