NBC’s ‘Today’ show reacts to shocking new claims about Matt Lauer
Matt Lauer’s former colleagues on NBC’s ‘Today’ show addressed shocking allegations about the disgraced anchor, reportedly revealed in Ronan Farrow’s upcoming book ‘Catch and Kill.’ Lauer was fired for sexual misconduct in 2017, and is accused of new sex crimes in graphic details by Variety.
Disgraced “Today” anchor Matt Lauer allegedly had an affair with a famed and well-respected broadcaster, the New York Post is exclusively told, representing a “clear imbalance of power.”
The woman signed a nondisclosure agreement when she left NBC.
We have agreed not to name the broadcaster at her request, but a TV source said: “Matt had influence over everyone’s career — one word and your career would be sunk. I know there was a clear imbalance of power in this woman’s relationship with Matt.”
EX-NBC NEWS ANCHOR MATT LAUER REPORTEDLY EXPOSED HIMSELF TO ‘TODAY’ PRODUCER
In his new book, “Catch and Kill,” Ronan Farrow also claims Lauer repeatedly harassed a fellow on-air NBC personality, who was allegedly forced to sign a strict NDA when she left the network in 2012. It’s not clear if it’s the same woman we’ve learned about.
Farrow reports that the unnamed former NBC broadcaster claimed Lauer and another NBC exec propositioned her and made lewd comments about her during broadcasts. She said, “I was like meat on a hook … I would walk into work with a knot in my stomach. I would come home and cry.”
She alleged that when she turned the men down, she was “punished” and got fewer assignments, adding: “My career took a sharp nosedive.” Although she didn’t make a formal report to HR, she did tell colleagues. When she left, NBC forced her to sign a nondisclosure agreement that waived her right to sue and banned her from making disparaging comments about the network, the book states.
Annette Roque and Matt Lauer were married from 1998-2019. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Apollo)
Lauer has strenuously denied any wrongdoing. His lawyers had no comment. Despite Farrow’s reporting, NBC stated that Brooke Nevils’ allegation of rape against Lauer, made in 2017, was the first time execs had heard of any wrongdoing.
NBC News president Noah Oppenheim said in a staff memo Monday that no records had been found of inappropriate messages from Lauer to the woman Farrow mentioned, and said she signed a standard NDA.
