‘TODAY’s Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb Respond to Grisly New Matt Lauer Rape Allegations: “We’re Disturbed to Our Core”

Overnight, Variety reported grisly new details of former TODAY show anchor Matt Lauer‘s horrific workplace behavior. Specifically, Ronan Farrow’s new book Catch and Kill includes explosive new allegations from former NBC News employee Brooke Nevils, who says that Lauer anally raped her while at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. The TODAY Show presented this report on this morning’s broadcast and co-anchors Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb took a moment after the segment to reflect on what it all meant to discover their former colleague had done this to another co-worker.

Update: Matt Lauer fires back against NBC staffer who accused him of rape

“This is shocking and appalling and I honestly don’t even know what to say about it,” Guthrie said. “I know it wasn’t easy for our colleague Brooke to come forward then, it’s not easy now, and we support her and any women who come forward with claims, and it’s just very painful for all of us at NBC and at The TODAY Show.”

According to the potentially triggering report, Nevils says that she, Lauer, and Meredith Viera ran into each other at a hotel bar in Sochi. After imbibing six shots of vodka, Nevils went to Lauer’s room twice, “once to retrieve her press credential, which Lauer had taken as a joke, and the second time because he invited her back.” He then forced her onto the bed and initiated nonconsensual anal sex. Nevils maintains this specific encounter was nonconsensual as she was both too drunk to consent and repeatedly told him she did not want to have anal sex. Lauer did not use lubricant and Nevils reportedly “bled for days.”

Almost two years ago, Matt Lauer was fired from NBC News for “inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace.” Though some disturbing details about this behavior emerged at the time — such as a secret button Lauer had in his office that allowed him to lock women inside the room against their will — this is the first time Nevils’s name has been revealed. At the time, Lauer’s co-host Savannah Guthrie had the emotional task of addressing the news, and soon she was joined by new co-host Hoda Kotb. Kotb recalled their first morning together with regards to today’s news.

“I’m looking at you and I’m having a weird moment. We were sitting here just like this two years ago, and truth be told, Savannah, I did a little prayer upstairs just to sort out what we were going to do,” Kotb said. “It’s like you feel like you have known someone for 12 years…you feel like you know them inside and out, and then all of a sudden, a door opens up, and it’s a part of them you didn’t know.”

Kotb said, “I think we’re just going to continue to process this part of this horrific story, and as you said, our thoughts are with Brooke.”

Guthrie perhaps put it best when she said, “I think I speak for all of us: we’re disturbed to our core.”

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