Ann Curry Says She’s “Not Surprised” By Matt Lauer Allegations

Former Today show host Ann Curry gave her first interview since leaving NBC and spoke about the firing of her former co-host Matt Lauer.

ANN CURRY ON MATT LAUER

Lauer was fired after several sexual harassment allegations were made against him last November. “I think it’s, in general, overdue,” Curry said of Lauer’s firing on CBS This Morning, and explained that the imbalance of power between men and women in the workplace is finally being broken down.

When asked she believed that Lauer abused his power, Curry hesitated. “I’m trying to do no harm in these conversations. I can tell you that I am not surprised by the allegations… I can say that I would be surprised if many women did not understand that there was a climate of verbal harassment that existed. I think it’d be surprising if someone said that they didn’t see that.”

When co-host Norah O’Donnell confirmed that Curry said that “verbal sexual harassment was pervasive,” Curry replied in the positive. “At NBC at the time when you were there?” O’Donnell followed up. “I don’t wanna cause more pain… you are asking me a very direct question,” Curry said. “I’m an honest person. I wanna tell you that it was. Yes. Period.”

Curry is glad that conversations and actions about men in power taking advantage of women are happening. “We clearly are waking up to a reality, an injustice that has been occurring for some time. And I think it will continue to occur until the glass ceiling is finally broken,” she said. “I’m not talking about people being attracted to other people. I’m talking about people in the work place who are powerful, who are abusing that power – and women and men are suffering.”

She added at the end of the interview, “The real question, in my view, is what are we going to do with all of this anger?” she asked. “And it’s not just, obviously, about where I used to work. It’s not about where you’re now working. But it’s about the problem that’s pervasive across industries in work places across America. The question is, ultimately, what are we going to do about it?”

After leaving Today in 2015 after 15 years, Curry is returning to TV with her new PBS show We’ll Meet Again, which helps people find the loved ones they lost track of at various points in history.