Matt Lauer accuser Brooke Nevils releases a new statement slamming his "victim blaming": "The shame in his story belongs to him"

Variety

Brooke Nevils followed up the statement she released last night with a new statement this morning to Variety responding to Lauer's Wednesday morning letter: "I knew what kind of person Matt Lauer was when I made the decision to report him to NBC in November 2017, and I knew what kind of a person he was when I made the decision to tell my story to Ronan Farrow," she writes. "In both of those cases, I asked that my allegations be thoroughly investigated, and that Matt be given the opportunity to defend himself,"  I provided dates, times, evidence of communications, and corroborating accounts. Both NBC and Farrow found me credible. As his open letter clearly reveals, there may be more than one Matt Lauer. There’s the Matt Lauer that millions of Americans watched on TV every morning for two decades, and there is the Matt Lauer who this morning attempted to bully a former colleague into silence. His open letter was a case study in victim blaming and concluded by threatening any other woman who might dare to speak out against him. This is the Matt Lauer, then the most powerful asset at NBC News, who I feared when I continued to engage with him, as many victims of acquaintance rape do, particularly in the workplace. This is the Matt Lauer I reported in November 2017. I was not afraid of him then, and I am not afraid of him now, regardless of his threats, bullying, and the shaming and predatory tactics I knew he would (and now has) tried to use against me. The shame in this story belongs to him.” ALSO: Nevils tweets appreciation to her supporters.