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Former NBC ‘Today’ anchor Matt Lauer broke his silence Wednesday and defended himself against rape allegations put forth by Brooke Nevils, a former NBC producer, in Ronan Farrow’s “Catch & Kill.”
In a lengthy statement, Lauer admitted to extramarital affairs, including with former co-workers, but claimed, “I have never assaulted anyone or forced anyone to have sex. Period.”
Nevils alleges in Farrow’s book that on an evening in February 2014, when they were both in Sochi, Russia, covering the 2014 Winter Olympics, Lauer invited her up to his room. Once inside the room, she says Lauer forced himself onto her and raped her.
“It was nonconsensual in the sense that I was too drunk to consent,” Nevils told Farrow. “It was nonconsensual in that I said, multiple times, that I didn’t want to have anal sex.”
In his lengthy public letter Wednesday, Lauer described the encounter this way: “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.”
“There was absolutely nothing aggressive about that encounter,” he continued. “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.”
Lauer’s letter denying the rape accusation prompted a response from Nevils on Thursday afternoon.
Nevils called Lauer’s 1,400-word letter “a case study in victim-blaming.”
“As his open letter clearly reveals, there may be more than one Matt Lauer. There’s the Matt Lauer that millions of Americans watched on TV every morning for two decades, and there is the Matt Lauer who this morning attempted to bully a former colleague into silence,” Nevils said in her response.
The Chicks on the Right posted about the Matt Lauer rape accusation Wednesday, fueling irrational outrage from those who were offended by Mock’s take on the matter.
“Brooke admits to the fact that they had a sexual relationship after that,” Mock wrote in a Wednesday blog post. “Like, many many many times. According to Variety, she feels regret about that.”
From the Chicks on the Right:
But according to Matt Lauer, she never worked for him. She worked for Meredith Vieira, and Lauer had exactly zero control over her career. And interestingly enough, out of the two of them, she still works for NBC.
I’m just gonna say it. If you’re a chick who is legit the victim of a rape, and you decide voluntarily to continue a sexual relationship with your rapist, I have serious questions about your judgment, integrity, and sanity.
…
You guys, Matt Lauer is a Grade A A$$hole. He’s a perv, he’s an adulterous scumbag, and he’s a complete douchenozzle in a myriad of ways. But a rapist of Brooke Nevils? Sorry, I’m not buying it.
The Chicks address the outrage in the clip below.
