Celebrity News
Hoda Kotb Privately Standing by Former ‘Today’ Colleague Matt Lauer Amid Accuser’s New Book
Today fan favorite Hoda Kotb is still privately standing by former TV colleague Matt Lauer, sources say, even as the axed newsman’s rape accuser, Brooke Nevils, details her explosive allegations against him in her recently released book, Unspeakable Things: Silence, Shame, and the Stories We Choose to Believe.
Former NBC staffer Nevils has again forcefully rejected Lauer’s long-standing claim that their relationship was “consensual,” arguing in a recent interview that power imbalance makes true consent impossible.
“Hoda has never believed Matt was capable of what he’s accused of,” a longtime friend says. “And that belief hasn’t changed.”
Lauer, who was fired from Today in 2017 within 24 hours of Nevils’ complaint to the network, continues to deny wrongdoing.
A source close to Kotb explains, “She feels this is being relitigated in the press, and she believes Matt already paid the ultimate professional price.”
