Former NBC Employee Details Alleged Matt Lauer Assault in Sochi in New Memoir
The woman whose formal complaint led to the firing of longtime Today show anchor Matt Lauer in 2017 is now sharing devastating new details about what she describes as a violent sexual assault during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Brooke Nevils, a former NBC talent assistant, has published excerpts from her upcoming memoir, Unspeakable Things: Silence, Shame, and the Stories We Choose to Believe, revealing the traumatic aftermath of an encounter with the powerful television personality.
Harrowing Account of Sochi Incident
In the excerpt published by The Cut on January 28, Nevils writes about waking up in a hotel room after a night with Lauer and experiencing significant physical pain. Her initial reaction, she explains, was to convince herself that "this must have been a misunderstanding" because accepting the alternative would have meant her "whole life falling apart." Now married with two children, Nevils says she has spent years trying to make sense of what happened and rebuilding her life after what she later came to understand as sexual assault.
Nevils describes the power dynamics at play during that period, noting that Lauer was Today's longest-serving anchor at the time, earning a reported $25 million annually and surrounded by NBC employees whose careers depended on his favor. "Despite the rounds of vodka shots, the overwhelming power differential," she writes, "I would never have used the word 'rape' to describe what had happened."
Years of Internal Struggle and Self-Blame
The memoir reveals Nevils' complex emotional journey in the aftermath of the alleged assault. She continued communicating with Lauer after returning to New York, even visiting him at his apartment - a decision she examines with painful clarity in her writing. "Back then, I had no idea what to call what happened other than weird and humiliating," she writes. "But then there was the pain, which was undeniable. It hurt to walk. It hurt to sit. It hurt to remember."
Nevils addresses the difficult question many survivors face: "Why, if an alleged victim was really sexually assaulted, would they continue a relationship with the perpetrator? Why would they go back?" For Nevils, it would take years - and what she describes as "a national reckoning with sexual harassment and assault" - before she could label what happened to her as assault.
The Path to Coming Forward
Nevils describes her hesitation to come forward, noting that she felt she was "no Ashley Judd or Gretchen Carlson." She writes: "I was just one woman and nobody's ideal victim. I'd done everything wrong, and if it had taken five women coming forward with allegations against Mark Halperin, at least six for Bill O'Reilly, at least seven for Roger Ailes, how many women would have to come forward about Matt Lauer before any would be believed?"
After learning that reporters from Variety and The New York Times were investigating Lauer, Nevils knew it was a "matter of time" before the story would emerge. In November 2017, she filed a formal complaint with NBC. Lauer was questioned the following day and fired that night by NBC News chairman Andrew Lack. Multiple other women later came forward with allegations against him, some of which were published in Ronan Farrow's 2019 book, Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators.
Aftermath and Healing Journey
Following Lauer's firing, Nevils says her life unraveled completely. She took a leave of absence from NBC that became permanent and struggled with drinking, paranoia, and overwhelming shame. "I barely recognized the train wreck I'd become," she writes. "Soon I would find myself in a psych ward, believing myself so worthless and damaged that the world would be better off without me."
Lauer has denied Nevils' allegations of rape, stating through a representative that he had an "extramarital affair" with her and that their relationship was "completely consensual." The Independent has reached out to Lauer for additional comment on the new allegations presented in Nevils' memoir.
Finding Purpose Through Writing
Today, Nevils says she has found healing through family and the process of writing her memoir, which is scheduled for release on February 3. "I have spent the long years since using my otherwise abandoned skills as a journalist to report and write the book about sexual harassment and assault that I wish had existed for me," she explains. "In the process, I have painstakingly rebuilt my life."
Nevils hopes her book will provide support for others who may find themselves in similar situations. "I know what it is to feel truly alone and ashamed, living a life that seems irredeemable, believing yourself to be worthless and unlovable," she writes. "Not one of these things - for any one of us - is ever true."
