« A climate of verbal harassment existed, » she said.
When former Today show host Matt Lauer was fired in November amid allegations of sexual misconduct, lots of people imagined Ann Curry’s gleeful reaction; Lauer was infamously accused of pushing her off the morning show in 2012.
But Curry’s response seemed more calculated than emotional during an appearance on CBS’ This Morning Wednesday. « I can tell you that I’m not surprised by the allegations, » Curry said.
When pressed to explain her statement, Curry didn’t want to accidentally cause « pain » to anyone.
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« That means—see now I’m walking down that road, » she said. « 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 kind of pain for somebody else. »
Curry did suggest, however, that there was a climate of harassment at the show.
« Because you’re asking me a very direct question, 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 said on This Morning . « I think it would be surprising if someone said that they didn’t see that. »
Curry also spoke with People magazine this week, displaying the same careful consideration. « I’m not a vengeful person, » she said. « I wish I could say that I was celebrating. But actually I immediately checked myself. Because I knew women had suffered. »
Ann Curry attends the ‘Elvis & Nixon’ Premiere during the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival at BMCC John Zuccotti Theater on April 18,2016 in New York City. Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival
Katie Couric, Lauer’s longtime Today co-host, has also spoken out about the allegations. « The whole thing has been very painful for me,” Couric told People this month. « The accounts I’ve read and heard have been disturbing, distressing and disorienting and it’s completely unacceptable that any woman at the Today show experienced this kind of treatment. »
Accusations against Lauer included that he assaulted a staffer in his office, that he gifted a colleague a sex toy and that he exposed himself to a staffer and chided her when she declined to perform a sexual act.
