Ann Curry Says She’s 'Not Surprised' About Matt Lauer Allegations
During a highly anticipated interview with CBS This Morning, veteran journalist Ann Curry said she wasn’t surprised by allegations of sexual misconduct that brought down her former Today co-host Matt Lauer. In fact, Curry added that she felt most of her female colleagues understood that a “climate of verbal harassment” existed at NBC, where she worked until 2015
On Wednesday, Curry sat down with CBS This Morning to promote her PBS docuseries, We’ll Meet Again. The conversation inevitably turned to her disgraced former co-host, and Curry was asked if she believed Lauer abused his power at NBC.
“I’m trying to do no harm in this conversations,” Curry said. “I can tell you that I’m not surprised by the allegations.”
When CBS This Morning co-host Gayle King pushed her about what her comments meant, Curry was evasive, but she explained, “I’m walking down that road I’m trying not to hurt people. I know what it’s like to be publicly humiliated, I never did anything wrong to be publicly humiliated, and I don’t want to cause that pain to someone else.”
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Still, Curry was willing to speak out against a pervasive culture of harassment that she says she observed at NBC, saying, “I would be surprised if many women did not understand that there was a climate of verbal harassment that existed. I think it would be surprising if someone said they didn’t see that. It was verbal sexual harassment.”
Curry added that the effect #MeToo has had exposing sexual misconduct is long overdue, and said she hopes people focus on supporting women who have bravely come forward with so many disturbing allegations.
“We’re talking about the scandal, the scandal, scandal. What about the victims? What are we going to do to remove the stigma and the shame? What are we going to do to make sure these women work and are not sidelined and prevented from contributing to the greater good that we all are trying to do?” she said.
Curry left the Today show in 2012, following rumors that she’d a contentious relationship with Lauer and that he had been behind her ouster. Speculation intensified when NBC aired Curry’s tearful goodbye to Today viewers; in the clip, Curry visibly flinches after Lauer kisses her cheek.
Curry continued working at NBC until starting her own production company in 2015. Lauer, meanwhile, was fired from NBC last November after colleagues accused him of sexual harassment. He’d been the Today show’s anchor for more than 20 years.