Matt Lauercontinues to lie low after denying the bombshell allegation that he raped his former NBC News colleagueBrooke Nevils.
On Sunday, the oustedTodayshow anchor was photographed grabbing fishing supplies from his boat in the Hamptons, where he has been living since hewas firedin November 2017 due to Nevils’ sexual misconduct complaint. He was also spottedpicking up coffeein the Hamptons on Oct. 16.
Sources recently told PEOPLE that Lauer, 61, was maintaining a low profile in anticipation ofRonan Farrow‘snew book, which featured an explosive interview with Nevils. (The rape accusation first surfaced in an Oct. 8 excerpt.)
“Matt has been hunkered down in the Hamptons in anticipation of this book,” said one source. “He knew bad things were in it, but he didn’t know exactly what was going to make it into the news.”
Matt Agudo/SplashNews.com
InCatch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators(out now),Nevils alleges that Laueranally raped her in his hotel roomat the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Nevils told Farrow she was “too drunk to consent” and also stated multiple times that she did not want to have anal intercourse.
Nevils said 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.”
Lauer, who recentlyfinalized his divorcefrom longtime wifeAnnette Roque,penned a lengthy letter in response, claiming the encounter was “extramarital, but consensual.” He said the encounter in Sochi was the beginning of his affair with Nevils and “the first of many sexual encounters between us over the next several months.”
Annie Watt Agency; Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
Nevils slammed Lauer’s open letter, calling it a“case study in victim shaming.”
In a statement read on-air on theTodayshow after Nevils’ rape accusation was first publicly reported earlier this month, 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.”
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
