Another woman has come forward to accuse Matt Lauer of sexual misconduct in Ronan Farrow's new book.
Ahead of the Tuesday release of Catch and Kill, excerpts last week revealed that Lauer was fired in 2017 after an NBC News employee accused him of rape, a detail that had not been previously reported. But Farrow's book also describes an allegation from Melissa Lonner, a former booker on Today who accused Lauer of exposing himself to her in an empty office at a company party in 2010, The Hollywood Reporter writes.
Lonner alleges she attempted to get away but that Lauer became angry, calling her a "tease" and telling her, "You led me on," Deadline reports. Although she did not make a formal complaint at the time, Farrow reports Lonner told Ann Curry, who then told two senior executives that Lauer had a "problem with women." Lonner upon leaving NBC News in 2013 reportedly signed an agreement that prevented her from filing a legal claim, and she was reportedly reminded by an NBC lawyer in 2018 about the "enforceability of her pact."
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Lauer's attorney denied the allegation in a statement, saying "Matt never exposed himself to anyone" and calling the claim "ridiculous."
NBC has denied knowing anything about Lauer's alleged misconduct prior to his firing in November 2017, with NBC News President Noah Oppenheim writing in a letter to staff this week that the agreement Lonner disclosed was "standard for departing employees at the time" and was "not drafted to prevent an employee from reporting misconduct." Oppenheim has also accused Farrow of being "clearly motivated not by a pursuit of truth, but an axe to grind." Farrow stands by his reporting, saying it's "indisputable" that "there was a chain of secret settlements at this company that were covered up."
