Matt Lauer has his transaction cancelled

In this instance, yes, I call bullshit.

 

Matt Lauer: Rape Claims 'False,' Affair Was 'Consensual'

“In a new book, it is alleged that an extramarital, but consensual, sexual encounter I have previously admitted having, was in fact an assault. It is categorically false, ignores the facts, and defies common sense,” Lauer expressed. “I had an extramarital affair with Brooke Nevils in 2014. It began when she came to my hotel room very late one night in Sochi, Russia. We engaged in a variety of sexual acts. We performed oral sex on each other, we had vaginal sex, and we had anal sex. Each act was mutual and completely consensual.”

“The story Brooke tells is filled with false details intended only to create the impression this was an abusive encounter. Nothing could be further from the truth. There was absolutely nothing aggressive about that encounter,” he continued, adding, “Brooke did not do or say anything to object. She certainly did not cry. She was a fully enthusiastic and willing partner. At no time did she behave in a way that made it appear she was incapable of consent.”

 

She told NBC in 2017: NBC Fires Matt Lauer, the Face of ‘Today’

"In an editorial meeting on Wednesday, Mr. Lack said that Mr. Lauer’s involvement with the woman who made the complaint began while they were in Sochi, Russia, to cover the Winter Olympics in 2014, and that their involvement continued after they returned to New York, according to two people briefed on the meeting."

 

Why then? Just curious why she waited three years.

I'm not being devil's advocate, but you'd be wrong if you think I'm the only one -- women included -- whose BS detector goes off when you have an instance like this.

 

I'm still reading up on it. Another article (Ronan Farrow Book Alleges Matt Lauer Raped NBC News Colleague) says this:

 

When she said no in the hotel room and he continued it was rape. That she had been drinking, that she was in a hotel room, that he was married is irrelevant. Whatever she did, he was the rapist.

I haven’t read the book but the reports I heard this morning did not suggest she claimed later sexual encounters were rapes but that she continued the affair because of the power he had over her career. This is workplace sexual harassment.

She didn’t tell anyone because she knew she wouldn’t be believed and would be blamed. Women are still being told sexual assault happens because of their behavior. Women believe it. Out of fear, out of embarrassment, out of a feeling of the uselessness of the act, women don’t tell anyone. And yes, women have so internalized this that they also victim blame, which also makes it easier to believe it won’t happen to them. Even when the rapist/harasser is not someone with the statute of Lauer.

I was sexually harassed by someone who was part of the committee that hired me and set my salary. He was also a big name in my profession. Nothing physical happened. It did scare the crap out of me. I told one girlfriend. Another man on the hiring committee knew I was upset about something and convinced me to tell him. While he was supportive and helped make sure I was never alone with the harasser, at no time did he suggest I report this to anyone in the organization. As much authority as he had, he knew nothing would happen other than ruin my career. I didn’t tell other people for many years, after he retired and no longer had any ability to harm me professionally.

 

I'm not going to get this exactly right, legally speaking, but statutory rape, at least in Canada, is not just about age. It's about power. Basically, if you're remotely successful in your field, and you want to err on the side of caution, you don't have sex with other people in your field. I was told at a conference, when I was at the height of my magazine career, that no other writer could consent to having sex with me, because of the power dynamic at play. Obviously there are lots of relationships between people in the same field, and a lot of them are consensual. There are also a lot of transactional encounters, seen by both people involved for what it is. But the power one person might over the other person's career always makes the issue of true consent a little muddled.

TL;DR: Matt Lauer had a lot of power. He shouldn't have been having sex with anyone at NBC especially, or in TV generally.

 

maybe just his wife

 

People like you are why the accusers wait years.

 

People like me...

That's some loaded language.

People like me think people who engage in sex transactionally are prostitutes. If they don't wanna play that game, then don't. It's that simple. She was 30 freaking years old. She wasn't some 18 year old intern.