Ann Curry ‘not surprised’ by Lauer allegations
Former NBC “Today” host Ann Curry told CBS on Wednesday that she wasn’t surprised by sexual misconduct allegations against Matt Lauer, her co-host on the popular program.
“I am not surprised by the allegations,” Curry told “CBS This Morning” on Wednesday in her first interview since the charges against Lauer surfaced.
“I’m trying not to hurt people. And 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 somebody else,” said Curry, whose loss of her job on “Today” was linked in part to Lauer.
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“I can say that I would be surprised if many women did not understand that there was a climate of verbal harassment that existed,” she continued.
Lauer, the highest-paid host in broadcast news, was fired by NBC on Nov. 29 following an internal investigation into the allegations. Multiple women at the network have since come forward accusing the 59-year-old of sexual harassment or assault.
When host Gayle King attempted to compel Curry to elaborate, she repeated that she did not want to cause anyone pain.
“We clearly are waking up to a reality and injustice that has been occurring for some time,” Curry added at another point of the interview.
“I think it will continue to occur until the glass ceiling is finally broken. This is about a power imbalance, where women are not valued as much as men,” she said. “I’m not talking about people being attracted to other people. I’m talking about people in a workplace who are abusing their power and women and men are suffering. And I think the fact that people are speaking out is important, and the fact that we are moving against this imbalance of power is absolutely overdue.”
Curry was Lauer’s co-anchor for a short time starting in 2011 after 25 years at NBC starting, but she was ousted from the role in June 2012.
Many have speculated that Lauer demanded she be replaced on the program.
Curry, 61, is married to software executive Brian Ross.
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