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This story contains explicit accusations that some readers may find upsetting.

A former junior colleague of Matt Lauer's has accused him of raping her in his hotel room during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. In her first public comments about the incident — told to journalist Ronan Farrow for his forthcoming book, 

 show host forced anal sex on her without her consent in his hotel room.

According to NBC News, it was Nevils' complaint that ultimately led to Lauer's 

 — one of the most prominent dismissals during the 

. Until now, the accuser's identity and her specific allegation of rape had not been publicly known.

, based on advance copies of Farrow's book. By Wednesday morning, NBC News had 

 calling Lauer's conduct "appalling, horrific and reprehensible."

Lauer responded to the rape allegation Wednesday by sending an open letter to NPR and other news outlets in which he denied wrongdoing and said his previous silence "has been a mistake."

"Today, nearly two years after I was fired by NBC, old stories are being recycled, titillating details are being added, and a dangerous and defamatory new allegation is being made. All are being spread as part of a promotional effort to sell a book," the former NBC star wrote in a note that spans more than two pages. "It's outrageous."

In its response to the newly public details, NBC News said it feels the same horror it did "at the time" the agency first learned of the allegations, adding, "That's why he was fired within 24 hours of us first learning of the complaint."

 show also addressed their predecessor's alleged conduct in a somber segment on air.

"This is shocking and appalling, and I honestly don't know what to say about it," Savannah Guthrie said, her voice quavering.

Of Lauer's accuser, Guthrie said, "I know it wasn't easy for our colleague Brooke to come forward then; it's not easy now. And we support her and any women who have come forward with claims."

"It's very, very, very difficult," she added.

In Farrow's book, Nevils details the evening on which the alleged sexual assault took place. She says Lauer joined her and Vieira in a hotel bar in Sochi during the Olympics, for which NBC is the U.S. broadcaster and partner. Nevils says that later that night, after she had consumed many drinks, Lauer summoned her to his hotel room to retrieve her media credential.

She recounts him pushing her onto his hotel bed, asking if she liked anal sex, and despite her repeated refusals, raping her anally.

"It was non-consensual in that I was too drunk to consent," she told Farrow in his book. "It was non-consensual in that I said, multiple times, that I didn't want to have anal sex."

In his response, Lauer, 61, said he had "an extramarital, but consensual, sexual encounter" with Nevils in 2014, in which "we engaged in a variety of sexual acts" — but he insists, "each act was mutual and completely consensual."

That night in Sochi, Lauer asserted, was the start of an affair that continued after they returned to New York City, including a "sexual encounter" in his dressing room. "That showed terrible judgment on my part," Lauer added, "but it was completely mutual and consensual."

He said that he broke off the affair, and that he did not learn of any complaint from her until called in to speak to an NBC News attorney in November 2017, shortly before his firing.

Nevils' newly surfaced allegations, he added, "cross a serious line."

"Because of my infidelity, I have brought more pain and embarrassment to my family than most people can ever begin to understand. They've been through hell. I have asked for their forgiveness, taken responsibility for what I did do wrong, and accepted the consequences," Lauer said. "But by not speaking out I also emboldened those who continue to do me harm with false stories."

In the book, Nevils acknowledges that she told Lauer that she was OK with what happened between them. But she adds that she did so in order to preserve her job and that of her boyfriend's brother, who worked for the NBC star. And she says she had several further sexual encounters with Lauer.

Nevils says that although she tried to convey to Lauer that she was fine, she told partial accounts about him to colleagues and, according to Farrow, she reported Lauer's behavior to a new boss at Peacock Productions — a different TV unit within the greater NBC network.

NBC did not respond to NPR's initial queries for comment beyond the brief statement the network released Wednesday.

 delves deeply into the incidents and background of the investigative reporting that won Farrow a Pulitzer Prize 

 on disgraced Hollywood megaproducer Harvey Weinstein — along with a 

' Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey — has been credited with propelling the #MeToo movement that brought the downfall of dozens of prominent men accused of sexual misconduct.

Farrow left NBC in 2017 over the network's refusal to broadcast his reporting on allegations of Weinstein's serial sexual assaults and abuse. In his book, Farrow reports that 7 women told him of incidents of sexual misconduct by Lauer, and that he also uncovered seven non-disclosure agreements with former NBC News employees to silence accusations against Lauer.

Some of the agreements involved monetary payments, which in Nevils' case was seven figures.

Farrow also reported that NBC News executives were spooked by the possibility that the 

, allied with Weinstein, might report about seedy allegations about Lauer — and even allegations about the behavior of former NBC News Chairman Andrew Lack years earlier, during his tenure at CBS.

NBC has not responded to those elements of Farrow's reporting.

Just over a month after the initial stories about Weinstein appeared, NBC News fired Lauer after receiving what the network 

 a "detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace."

On Wednesday, Hoda Kotb, who replaced Lauer as 

, said during the show that she, and all of Lauer's former colleagues, are struggling to digest the latest news.

"We don't know all the facts and all of this, but they are not allegations of an affair; they are allegations of a crime. And I think that's shocking to all of us here who have sat with Matt for many, many years," Kotb said. "So I think we're just going to continue to process this part of this horrific story." 

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Colin Dwyer

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David Folkenflik

New details about Lauer's alleged behavior are in Ronan Farrow's forthcoming book. Until now, the accuser's identity and her specific allegation of rape had not been publicly known.

Matt Lauer accused of rape in new book; Former NBC star denies 'false stories'

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