Matt Lauer sounds pretty happy about The New York Times' criticism of Ronan Farrow

Matt Lauer has fired off a lengthy op-ed going after Ronan Farrow, accusing the Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter of "shoddy journalism."

The disgraced former NBC host, who was accused of sexual misconduct by numerous women and fired in 2017, published his op-ed Tuesday on Mediaite, attacking Farrow, who interviewed a woman who alleged Lauer raped her at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. The interview was for Ronan's 2019 book Catch and Kill. Lauer, who denies Brooke Nevils' rape allegation, claims Farrow did not properly fact-check the book and acted "as Brooke's advocate, not as a journalist investigating her claims."

"I also believe that some of Ronan's sources felt they could make outrageous claims to him, knowing he (and thus their stories) would not be doubted," Lauer writes.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Lauer goes on to claim he personally reached out to some people referenced in Catch and Kill who supposedly told him they were not contacted for fact-checking, and he accuses Farrow of using misleading language in the book.

Though Lauer writes he'd been working on the op-ed, intending to release it last year, it comes partially in response to an article Sunday by New York Times media columnist Ben Smith. The Times column is surprisingly critical of Farrow, which clearly pleased Lauer because he quotes it throughout. Smith wrote that Farrow "does not always follow the typical journalistic imperatives of corroboration and rigorous disclosure" and suggests "conspiracies that are tantalizing but he cannot prove." Farrow said in response, "I stand by my reporting."

Following the Mediaite op-ed's publication, commentator Evan Siegfried blasted Lauer, tweeting that he "raped my friend @BrookeNevils and is now trying to rewrite history."