Matt Lauer is sporting some new ink with a pointed message.
The 62-year-old former Today co-anchor was snapped driving in Sag Harbor, New York, on Wednesday in pictures published by Us Weekly, where his new tattoo was clearly visible on his right forearm. The tattoo is written in cursive and reads, "Hatred corrodes the container it's carried in."
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The quote is from former Sen. Alan Simpson, who said it during his eulogy for the late George H.W. Bush in December 2018.
"He never lost his sense of humor," Simpson said of the late 41st president. "Humor is the universal solvent against the abrasive elements of life. ... [Bush] never hated anyone. He knew what his mother and my mother always knew: hatred corrodes the container it's carried in."
Meanwhile, in an essay published by Mediaite on Tuesday, Lauer took aim at Ronan Farrow for his reporting on his alleged sexual misconduct while working for NBC, and accused the reporter of failing to properly fact-check claims made in his book, Catch and Kill.
Lauer was fired by NBC in 2017 after an employee accused him of inappropriate sexual behavior. That employee, Brooke Nevils, later alleged in Catch and Kill that Lauer had raped her when they were both working for NBC at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. Nevils characterized her sexual encounters with Lauer after Sochi as "transactional," saying she consented only out of fear that Lauer had control over her career. (Lauer has admitted to having a consensual yet inappropriate relationship with a fellow employee, but denied Nevils' allegation of rape.)
"I had originally intended to release this piece in November of 2019, but personal considerations at that time, and later news events impacting us all, delayed those plans," Lauer wrote of his piece, in which he fact-checks Farrow's book himself and disputes certain claims. "On October 9, 2019, I was falsely accused of rape. ... This accusation was one of the worst and most consequential things to ever happen in my life, it was devastating for my family, and outrageously it was used to sell books."
Farrow addressed Lauer's accusations on Twitter, writing, "All I’ll say on this is that Matt Lauer is just wrong. Catch and Kill was thoroughly reported and fact-checked, including with Matt Lauer himself."
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