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Brooke Nevils has publicly refuted Matt Lauer’s portrayal of their past relationship as consensual, challenging his narrative years after she accused him of raping her in 2014.
In an interview with NPR on Thursday, Nevils clarified her stance, saying, “Consent and agreement are not the same. When power dynamics are at play, it’s not about genuine consent; it’s about submission.”
Nevils elaborated on the complexities of their professional environment, noting, “In our industry, hotel rooms are not perceived as they might be socially. We often work in hotel rooms. I had already been to his room for a rehearsal and earlier that evening. These spaces don’t carry the same implications as they might in other fields.”
She further explained the pressures of her role, saying, “When your job involves working with influential individuals, keeping them satisfied is crucial. Their opinion can significantly affect your career trajectory. Upsetting them might mean exclusion from future opportunities, altering the nature of every interaction.”
Nevils added, “Receiving professional attention from someone powerful can feel like a privilege. Those in positions of power are aware of their influence and leverage it regularly.”
A rep for Lauer did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
In 2017, Nevils first came forward with claims that Lauer, now 68, anally raped her in his hotel room while she was working as Meredith Vieira‘s personal assistant, covering the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
Within 24 hours after she filed her complaint, Lauer was fired from his post on the “Today” show and NBC, and several other women came forward with accusations against him.
Two years later, when Variety published an excerpt from Ronan Farrow’s book “Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators” — which contained a message from Nevils about the alleged sexual assault saying she “declined” Lauer and was “too drunk to consent” — Lauer responded to Nevil’s claims, describing their sexual relationship as “consensual.”
“The story Brooke tells is filled with false details intended only to create the impression this was an abusive encounter. Nothing could be further from the truth,” Lauer claimed at the time.
In her forthcoming memoir “Unspeakable Things: Silence, Shame, and the Stories We Choose to Believe,” Nevils recounts the details of the incident in her own words.
In an excerpt from the book published by The Cut, Nevils says the pain she felt the morning after her assault was “undeniable.”
“It hurt to walk. It hurt to sit. It hurt to remember,” she shares. She goes on to share that Lauer emailed her later that day with a message that read, “You don’t call, you don’t write — my feelings are hurt! How are you?”
“I had no idea how to respond, but I knew that to ask anyone for help would only make it worse,” Nevils writes in her memoir, per the excerpt. “Shameful secrets are like that. To trust anyone is to give them power over you. I was totally alone, drowning in plain sight.”
“Unspeakable Things: Silence, Shame, and the Stories We Choose to Believe” comes out Tuesday.