What Did NBC Know About Matt Lauer And When Did They Know It?

The Wall Street Journal reports former NBC anchor Matt Lauer, who was fired from his job at the network in 2017 after a colleague accused him of misconduct, has denied that he had non-consensual sex with his accuser, whose allegation is in a coming book by journalist Ronan Farrow.

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

In Farrow’s book, “Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators,” a copy of which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, a former NBC News employee, Brooke Nevils, alleged that Mr. Lauer anally raped her in his hotel room during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The book is due to be released next week.

Lauer, a longtime co-anchor of NBC’s “Today” show, was fired in November 2017 for inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace. NBC said at the time that it had received a detailed complaint from an employee about misconduct by Mr. Lauer that represented “a clear violation of our company’s standards.” The book reveals that the employee was Ms. Nevils.

According to the Associated Press, Lauer admitted to his extramarital affair with Nevils. He said on that night in Sochi that they consensually performed a variety of sexual acts.

“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.”

He claimed they had an affair that lasted after they returned to the United States. Nevils described the sex as “transactional” and that she feared the effect Lauer could have on her career.

NBC Chairman Andrew Lack, in a memo sent to network staff on Wednesday, said the network hadn’t known of Lauer’s behavior with Nevils until the day before he was fired. An internal investigation uncovered no claims or settlements associated with allegations of inappropriate conduct by Lauer before he was fired, Lack said.

Matt Lauer

But Farrow indicated that Lauer’s behavior was an open secret at NBC.

The NY Post reports broadcast rivals CBS and ABC both have reported that the book claims senior staff at NBC had been told about Lauer’s alleged behavior at Sochi, but that NBC left that part out of its coverage. “They totally white-washed how they handled it this morning,” an NBC insider told us.

“CBS This Morning” led their report by saying the book “reveals a rape allegation … and a claim it was ignored” by network brass and said Farrow’s work “accused executives of not taking action.” It went on to say that Lauer’s accuser Brooke Nevils — a former NBC producer — “told colleagues and superiors about the encounters” and that “after Lauer was fired, she learned that NBC News president Noah Oppenheim and chairman Andrew Lack were quote ‘emphasizing that the incident had ‘not been criminal’ or an ‘assault.’’’

ABC’s “Good Morning America,” meanwhile, reported that “after the encounter … Farrow says [Nevils] told colleagues and superiors at NBC but nothing happened” until she went to [her boss, NBC anchor] Meredith Viera.

NBC’s “Today” show, meanwhile, reported only that Nevils “eventually told Viera in 2017, several years after the Games” and that “Viera urged her to go to NBC Universal’s human resources department with a lawyer, which she did. The day after that meeting, Lauer was terminated by NBC for inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace.”

Farrow also once again accused NBC News executives of killing his exposé on Harvey Weinstein's alleged sexual misconduct, and now adds that Weinstein had threatened to expose the alleged sexual predations of the network's Lauer.