In an unusual media “interview,” even for these times, Matt Lauer sat down with a journalist and made a case defending himself from a rape accusation, but it was all off the record, except for pictures of the encounter.
John Zeigler, host of a radio talk show in Los Angeles, described his encounter with Lauer, including pictures of the two of them in a kitchen, on Wednesday on Mediaite, the online political-and-media news site founded by Dan Abrams, ABC News’ chief legal affairs commentator.
“Tuesday I took a red-eye flight from Los Angeles to New York so that I could spend most of the day speaking with former NBC News anchor Matt Lauer about his version of the events that resulted in his 2017 firing, and the news-making allegations of sexual assault against him in Ronan Farrow’s new book,” Zeigler opens.
But that’s just the tease, followed by the letdown: “…After hours on the phone negotiating with Lauer, our agreement was that I could characterize the meeting, and we would take a photo documenting it, though the contents of our conversation would not be on the record, at least not right now.”
Matt Lauer in the Rosa Khutor Mountain Village ahead of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics on Feb. 6, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo: Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
Although Lauer issued a furious statement denying rape allegations, there is more to his side of the story “which I am not currently at liberty to divulge,” Zeigler writes.
He says Lauer had not read Farrow’s book, “Catch and Kill,” which contains the previously unknown allegation from a former colleague of Lauer who says Lauer raped her in a hotel room at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. That turns out to be the main reason why Lauer was fired for sexual misconduct by NBC in 2017, although the word “rape” wasn’t used at the time.
“I will say that hearing him tell his perspective in detail is extremely persuasive, especially when I get him to react in real time to details in the book, of which he apparently had no previous knowledge,” Zeigler writes.
So when does the rest of the world get to hear what Lauer has to say? At the end of his piece, Zeigler says Lauer wants to tell his version of events in public now that he’s been publicly accused of a crime that is unlikely to ever be resolved in a criminal court.
Ronan Farrow in April 2018 at Variety's Power of Women: New York at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. (Photo: ANGELA WEIS/ AFP/Getty Images)
“(Now) he finds himself in a completely different situation,” Zeigler writes. “He just hasn’t figured out the best manner or timing in which to do it and I can understand that reluctance in this media environment.”
Zeigler’s article, labeled an opinion piece, takes aim at the media environment stemming from the rise of the #MeToo movement, which he describes as over-zealous.
“If they dare to criticize overtly unfair media coverage, or directly contradict their accuser, they face a media herd deeply invested in running them over under the guise of protecting the brave victims (whatever happened to the part where we try to make sure they are victims first?),” Zeigler writes. “Meanwhile, if they stay silent, they are presumed to be guilty.”
He also questions the journalistic methods of Farrow, the ex-NBC News reporter whose new book is mostly about his efforts to expose the alleged sexual misconduct of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and his accusations that NBC killed his story for malign reasons.
According to Farrow’s book, Weinstein used his knowledge of Lauer’s own sexual misconduct as leverage against NBC to thwart his reporting, which he later published at The New Yorker. Both NBC and Weinstein deny this.
Matt Lauer in November 2017 on the set of the "Today" show in New York. (Photo: Nathan Congleton/NBC via AP)
Why did Lauer bother to meet under these conditions with Zeigler, a self-described “relatively minor media commentator and journalist who has battled with (Lauer) on-air in the past”? Maybe because Lauer has no other options, Zeigler writes.
“In a world where the news media was not badly broken, Lauer would have viable alternatives to be able to tell his side in a manner that allowed for rudimentary objectivity,” Zeigler writes. “Partly due to a perfect storm of circumstances related to the fact that Lauer was a major media personality himself, however, this is simply not the case.”
He suggests assembling a small panel of journalists, including Farrow and other ex-NBC colleagues-turned-critics, to interview Lauer live, “letting the chips fall where they may.”
It would be a “must-watch event,” he writes, but “I have zero expectation” it will actually happen.
Aidan McLaughlin, editor of Mediaite, said Ziegler is a regular opinion columnist.
“Our opinion writers have a lot of autonomy in determining what they write, so long as there are no factual inaccuracies,” he said in an email to USA TODAY. “As stated at the end of our opinion pieces, the ‘views expressed in this article are those of just the author.’ “
USA TODAY attempted to reach Lauer and Farrow but was unsuccessful.
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