Ann Curry and the women of Today express support for alleged Matt Lauer rape survivor, Brooke Nevils
Trigger warning: This post discusses rape.
Both the current and former women in front of the camera on Today are supporting Brooke Nevils after she opened up about her rape allegation against Matt Lauer. Ex-NBC News employee Nevils accuses disgraced former Today host Lauer of sexual assault in Ronan Farrow‘s upcoming book about his Harvey Weinstein investigation, Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators.
Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie addressed Nevils’ allegation on air, speaking personally about their experience with both Nevils and Lauer, who was fired from NBC in 2017 amid other accusations of sexual misconduct.
Today hosts Kotb and Guthrie said they support Nevils and are both “disturbed to our core.”
"I feel like we owe it to our viewers to pause for a moment, Guthrie said. “This is shocking and appalling. I honestly don’t even know what to say about it. I want to say, 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."
Kotb added that she and Guthrie “said a little prayer” together before going on air to discuss Nevils’s allegations against Lauer. The host was also clear that she, too, supported her colleague Brooke.
“We don’t know all the facts on all of this, but there are not allegations of an affair, there are allegations of a crime," Kotb said. "I think that’s shocking to all of us here who have sat with Matt for many, many years. So I think we’re going to just sort of 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.
“I think I speak for all of us: We are disturbed to our core,” added Guthrie.
.@savannahguthrie and @hodakotb respond to new allegations about Matt Lauer pic.twitter.com/HsngSZd1NA
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) October 9, 2019
Former Today co-anchor Ann Curry, who was controversially fired from the show in 2012, also spoke out in support of Nevils.
“Brooke Nevils is a credible young woman of good character,” Curry tweeted. “She came to NBC News an eager and guileless 20-something, brimming with talent. I believe she is telling the truth. And that breaks my heart.”
Brooke Nevils is a credible young woman of good character. She came to NBC News an eager and guileless 20-something, brimming with talent.
I believe she is telling the truth. And that breaks my heart. https://t.co/k4LT3MEh5Q
— Ann Curry (@AnnCurry) October 9, 2019
This isn’t the first time Curry has addressed the sexual misconduct accusations against her former co-anchor head-on. In July 2018, Curry told Gayle King, “I’m not surprised by the allegations,” according to Entertainment Tonight.
Brooke Nevils herself thanked other survivors for their support and for sharing their own stories ever since she came forward with her allegation against Lauer.
I want to thank the many survivors who shared their stories with me today and offered their support. It takes courage, and I am truly grateful.
— Brooke Nevils (@BrookeNevils) October 9, 2019
In Farrow’s soon-to-be-released book—which was obtained by Variety—Nevils accuses Lauer of anally raping her during the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Nevils worked with former Today anchor Meredith Vieria for her Olympics coverage, and she says she met both Vieria and Lauer for drinks at the hotel bar where her NBC News team was staying. According to Variety, Nevils says that afterward she went to Lauer’s hotel room twice—once to get her press credentials and again because he invited her.
Nevils says to Farrow, per Variety, that she “had no reason to suspect Lauer would be anything but friendly based on prior experience.” However, once Nevils returned to his hotel room, she alleges that Lauer forcefully kissed her, pushed her onto the bed, and “flipped her over.”
“She said that she declined several times,” Farrow writes, as reported in Variety, but Nevils says he “just did it.”
“It was nonconsensual in the sense that I was too drunk to consent,” Nevils tells Farrow, according to Variety. “It was nonconsensual in that I said, multiple times, that I didn’t want to have anal sex.”
Farrow’s book Catch and Kill, with Nevils’s full account, will be released on October 15th.
If you are a sexual assault survivor and need help, you can call the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 to speak to a trained counselor. You can also chat online with a counselor here. Both services are available 24/7.
