Matt Lauer's image has suffered after his co-host Ann Curry was sacked from the Today show on NBC and the network is now trying to get the two to have a public lunch in an effort to boost his popularity.
According to the New York Daily News, Matt earned $25 million this year but the money wasn't enough to ease the emotional pain and damage to his image.
Lauer admitted that people in the streets of Manhattan have been berating him, "screaming at him" and "calling him names" because they blame Lauer for Ann Curry's departure from the morning news show this past summer, according to TMZ.
"Matt is 'miserable' over what he believes are hateful and unfair tirades," the source reportedly told TMZ. "Matt says the harassment is constant, with people screaming things like 'You're a bad guy,' and 'You got Ann fired. Does that make you happy?'"
According to the Daily, NBC wants a show of public unity from Lauer and Curry. The two have had a couple of notably awkward on-air interactions since Curry shifted to a reporting role for the network, but they have not been seen in any lighthearted setting.
NBC's Today has steadily slipped in the ratings and fell behind Good Morning America back in April for the first time in 16 years.
Curry said at the time she was let go that she believed it was because she was getting older and the company wanted somebody younger in the role. She was replaced by Savannah Guthrie.
