00:00Ronan Farrow is revealing new details about former Today Show host Matt Lauer in his
00:04explosive new book Catch and Kill. The memoir, which focuses on Farrow's investigation
00:10into Harvey Weinstein, details secret payouts at NBC News and how Lauer may have
00:14played a role in the network's decision to kill the journalist's 2017 Weinstein
00:18expose that kicked off the MeToo movement. In the book, Farrow details several
00:23allegations against a former Today Show host, including one from former NBC News
00:27employee Brooke Nevels, whose complaint led to Lauer's firing the next day. Nevels was
00:32Meredith Vieira's assistant at the time of what she describes in the book as a rape,
00:36which she alleges took place in Lauer's hotel room in Sochi during the 2014 Winter Olympics.
00:41Lauer's former colleagues and current Today Show hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb
00:46addressed the fresh claims on Wednesday's show, calling the accusations about Lauer
00:50shocking and appalling. For 12 years, and I don't know if you guys have ever felt like that. You
00:54know someone, you know them, you feel like you know them inside and out, and then all of a sudden
00:58like a door opens up and it's a part of them you didn't know. During the broadcast, Guthrie also
01:03specifically referenced Nevel's accusations. I know it wasn't easy for our colleague Brooke to come
01:08forward then. It's not easy now. And we support her and any women who have come forward with claims.
01:15As for Lauer, the former anchor has since responded at length to the claims of workplace sexual
01:19misconduct that were detailed in the new book in an open letter released on October 9th, saying his
01:25quote, silence has been a mistake. In the letter sent via his legal representative, Lauer
01:29addresses why he hasn't spoken out in the past two years, writing,
01:44Lauer goes on to call the allegations categorically false and continues, writing,
01:48The story Brooke tells is filled with false details intended only to create the impression
01:52this was an abusive encounter. Nothing could be further from the truth.
01:56For more updates to this story, head to THR.com. For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Neha Joy.
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