Megyn Kellyis breaking her silence on the rape allegation brought against oustedTodayanchorMatt Lauer.
“Let’s not lose sight of the forces for good in this story, like former Lauer co-host Ann Curry, who, despite the risks, sounded the alarm on Lauer in 2012 after a young woman complained to her, and Meredith Vieira, who, when confronted with Brooke Nevils’ account, told her to go report it,” she toldPage Sixin a statement.
Lauer’s rape allegation came to light inRonan Farrow‘s new book,Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators(out now). In it, former NBC News employee Nevils alleges that Lauer, 61,anally raped her in his hotel roomat the 2014 Sochi Olympics while she was working under Vieira, which Lauer denies.
According toCatch and Kill,Vieira, 65,encouraged Nevils to come forward.
Nathan Congleton/NBCU, Noam Galai/WireImage
“It was nonconsensual in the sense that I was too drunk to consent,” Nevils tells Farrow in the book. “It was nonconsensual in that I said, multiple times, that I didn’t want to have anal sex.”
Nevils says in the book that she had more sexual encounters with Lauer back in New York City, telling Farrow: “It was completely transactional. It was not a relationship.”
As for Curry, Farrow writes that Lauer’s onetime co-anchor told two senior executives about himallegedy exposing himselftoTodayshow producer Melissa Lonner at a work event in 2010.
Picture Perfect/REX/Shutterstock
In a statement read on-air Wednesday on theTodayshow, NBC News said, “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.”
Kelly, 48, and Carlson, 53, both former employees of the network, claimed Ailes sexually harassed them during their careers.
Of course, Kelly has her own complicated history with NBC. She left Fox in 2017 and signed a three-year,$23 million-a-year contractwith NBC, launching her own 9 a.m. hour ofTodayto much fanfare. ButMegyn Kelly Todaywas canceledin October 2018 amid immense backlash for her controversial remarks about blackface.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go toonline.rainn.org.
source: people.com
