Tanya Mosley

In the years since, public attention has shifted, and some of the men who were forced out during the reckoning are beginning to test whether there's a way back.

According to reports, Matt Lauer is one of them.

Today, we're hearing from one of the women whose allegations helped bring his career to an end.

For 20 years, Lauer was the most trusted man in morning television.

Hundreds gathered outside of Rockefeller Center in New York each morning for a glimpse of him and his co-hosts, while millions more watched at home as he sat on the Today Show couch, interviewing presidents, celebrities, and everyday Americans.

At the height of his power, NBC paid him $25 million a year, more than any other news anchor in the country.

But behind the scenes, there were complaints, rumors, and an atmosphere of fear.

In his 2019 book, Catch and Kill, journalist Ronan Farrow documented a pattern in which Lauer pursued women on staff at NBC over the course of decades.

One of those women was Brooke Nevels, who was in her late 20s and working with former Today Show co-anchor Meredith Vieira on NBC's coverage of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

According to her account, first reported by Farrow, one night after drinks with colleagues at a hotel bar, she went to Lauer's room.

There, she says, he sexually assaulted her, an allegation Lauer denies.

Nevels did not report what she says happened at the time.

She has said that she was terrified of Lauer's power and of what coming forward could mean for her career.

But as the Me Too movement gained momentum following the public downfall of Harvey Weinstein, Nevels went to human resources and Lauer was fired.

now nearly a decade since she came forward about the alleged assault, Brooke Nevels is telling her story in her own words, in a new memoir called Unspeakable Things, Silence, Shame, and the Stories We Choose to Believe.

Brooke Nevels, welcome to Fresh Air.

Thank you so much for having me.

Well, one of the first questions I actually have for you is the length of time between Matt Lauer's firing and you writing this book.

Matt Lauer was fired in 2017, and now we're several years later beyond that point.

Why did it take you this long to write this book?