In the new book Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators, journalist Ronan Farrow reveals that Today show co-anchor Matt Lauer exposed himself to former producer Melissa Lonner as they sat on a couch in his office with the door closed in 2010.
What We Know:
- According to PEOPLE, Emmy-Nominated Producer, Brooke Nevils also accused Lauer of sexual misconduct. In the book, Nevils describes the incident where she was allegedly raped by Lauer in his hotel room at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Lauer denied raping Nevils in a lengthy letter to Variety, saying he had an “extramarital, but consensual, sexual encounter” with her.
- Lonner shared what happened with Ann Curry, Lauer’s co-anchor at the time, NBC News reported. According to Fox News, she told Farrow “It was as close as you could get to a woman just melting in front of you in pain”.
- Farrow says that Lonner, who declined to comment for the book, told colleagues that Lauer asked her to leave the party at 30 Rock to “see him in his office.” Lauer asked her to sit down on a couch and allegedly made small talk about disliking work cocktail parties and then unzipped his pants and exposed his erect penis.
- Lauer denies exposing himself or making any propositions but does say he made a “joking lewd gesture,” AJC reports.
- In the book, Farrow says that four women signed nondisclosure agreements where the women claimed they were harassed by Lauer and two of the cases were allegedly handled before Lauer’s 2017 firing.
Lauer and his legal team suggest that this is another attempt for Farrow to monetize the #MeToo movement and that they have yet to receive an advanced copy of the book, which they have requested.
