Ann Curry has voiced her support for Brooke Nevils, the former NBC News employee who accused Matt Lauer of sexual assault. Curry stated in no uncertain terms that she believes Nevils on Twitter on Wednesday, and that her story is heartbreaking.
Nevils is the previously anonymous NBC News employee who first raised sexual assault allegations against Lauer in the fall of 2017. Lauer was fired following Nevils’ report, just as several more accusers were sharing their stories with other news outlets.
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This week, Variety published an early excerpt from the new book Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow. Farrow interviewed Nevils for the book, who shared her story in graphic and horrifying detail. After reading the reports, Curry took her former colleague at her word.
Brooke Nevils is a credible young woman of good character. She came to NBC News an eager and guileless 20-something, brimming with talent.
I believe she is telling the truth. And that breaks my heart. https://t.co/k4LT3MEh5Q
— Ann Curry (@AnnCurry) October 9, 2019
“Brooke Nevils is a credible young woman of good character,” Curry tweeted. “She came to NBC News an eager and guileless 20-something, brimming with talent. I believe she is telling the truth. And that breaks my heart.”
Curry was Lauer’s co-anchor on the Today Show for a time, until she left the production in 2012. Last year, she revealed that she had reported Lauer to NBC management on behalf of a colleague, who said that he had sexually harassed her. When the report went nowhere, Curry left the show.
“A woman approached me and asked me tearfully if I could help her. “She was afraid of losing her job… I believed her,” she told the Washington Post. “I told management they had a problem and they needed to keep an eye on him and how he deals with women.”
Curry was reportedly still bound by a non-disclosure agreement at the time of her interview. However, it was widely assumed that her reporting of Lauer contributed to her leaving the Today Show. Curry was not the only one of Lauer’s former colleagues to comment on the story on Wednesday. In the third hour of Today on Wednesday, Al Roker found himself nearly lost for words when the subject came up.
“It’s a — really, a sad, sad day,” Roker said shakily. “I mean, [there are] some horrific allegations, claims and charges. Again, as you said, we really feel badly for Brooke Nevils. Our heart goes out to her, it took a lot of courage for her to do that. It’s just a sad, sad story.”
Lauer issued a new statement to Variety this week, denying Nevils’ claims. He said that their encounter at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi was consensual, and did not comment on her claim that they had had a prolonged affair.
“It is categorically false, ignores the facts, and defies common sense,” Lauer wrote.
Farrow’s book, Catch and Kill, is on shelves everywhere on Tuesday, Oct. 15.
