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Matt Lauer's Accuser Brooke Nevils Tweets Her Thanks for Support After Sharing Her Story

By Liz Calvario‍ 6:50 PM PDT, October 9, 2019

Former NBC producer Brooke Nevils is speaking out following her allegations against Matt Lauer.

In Ronan Farrow's new book -- Catch and Kill, which is due out Oct. 15 -- Nevils alleges that Lauer anally raped her at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Lauer has denied all allegations against him. The producer's claims were released on Tuesday, via Variety, where Farrow writes about Nevils' initial anonymous complaint about Lauer, which led, in part, to his Today firing in 2017.

"I want to thank the many survivors who shared their stories with me today and offered their support," Nevils tweeted on Wednesday, following the news. "It takes courage, and I am truly grateful."

Nevils claims in the book that, when she was in Sochi with Meredith Vieira for Olympics coverage, Lauer joined the pair for drinks at a hotel bar. Nevils, who says she had six shots of vodka, later went up to Lauer's hotel room twice, once to get a press pass and again because Lauer invited her, the book says.

On her second visit to Lauer's room, Nevils alleges in the book, the former Today host "pushed her against the door and kissed her."

"He then pushed her onto the bed, flipping her over, asking if she liked anal sex," Farrow writes. "She said that she declined several times."

Despite Nevils' alleged protestations, she claims in the book that Lauer "just did it" and "didn't use any lubricant," after which she says she "bled for days."

"The encounter was excruciatingly painful," Farrow writes. He says Nevils told him, "'It hurt so bad. I remember thinking, Is this normal?' She told me she stopped saying no, but wept silently into a pillow. Lauer then asked her if she liked it. She told him yes."

However, following the report, Lauer responded to this new allegation in a lengthy letter, which was provided by his lawyer, in which he called the claim "categorically false" adding that it "ignores the facts, and defies common sense." Read Lauer's full letter, here.

"Today, nearly two years after I was fired by NBC, old stories are being recycled, titillating details are being added, and a dangerous and defamatory new allegation is being made," Lauer wrote. "All are being spread as part of a promotional effort to sell a book."

He also denied having influence over Nevils' career, said he "had an extramarital affair" with Nevils and called their Sochi encounter "mutual and completely consensual."

"I have never assaulted anyone or forced anyone to have sex. Period," he added later in the letter.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Lauer's former Today show co-hosts, Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb discussed the latest allegations on air, with Guthrie saying that they were "disturbed to our core."

Ann Curry also showed her support for Nevils. "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."

See more on the allegations in the video above.