Eight months after NBC removed Ann Curry as cohost of "Today," Matt Lauer is still apologizing for something he apparently did not do. After she sat on the Today couch and cried last summer, audiences unleashed their fury on Lauer. Did Curry knowingly or unknowingly throw Lauer under the bus?
To those who believe that Lauer was unchivalrous and did not rise to the defense of his cohost, the Daily Beast's Howard Kurtz reports Lauer claims to have opposed the move. NBC executives, for their part, defended Lauer profusely and denied that he had anything to do with the firing:
"When Matt was informed that we had made this decision, his good counsel was to go slow, to take care of Ann, and to do the right things," says Steve Capus, who stepped down last month as NBC News president. "He was quietly and publicly a supporter of Ann's throughout the entire process. It is unfair that Matt has shouldered an undue amount of blame for a decision he disagreed with."
Curry had been with "Today" for 15 years, from 1997 until 2012. She was appointed as cohost in 2011. Her reaction to being fired is understandable given the abruptness of the move. Management had purportedly been critical of her appearance as well as her apparent lack of chemistry with cohost Lauer. However, the final straw was the drop in ratings that "Today" experienced, which executives blamed on Curry.
Lauer claims that Curry was not truly fit for the role, although Curry had described it as her "dream job." He says that she was much better suited to following international stories, which she had done as news anchor for many years.
Since that time, Curry has had brief roles on NBC as the company decides what to do with her. She reportedly commands a $5 million per year salary, which is difficult for stations to accommodate in these times of low ratings.
Her teary couch performance unleashed a storm of criticism on NBC, which mostly fell on Lauer. He recounted being screamed at by fans on the street of Manhattan and being called "a bad guy" who "got Ann fired."
Silent all this time was Curry. She has apparently been asked to stay silent by NBC, which the station denies. In August last year, a much-touted Lauer and Curry reunion took place during a live broadcast from the London Olympics. It was terse and awkward, with Lauer's effusive greetings to Curry falling flat as his former cohost replied curtly, "Good morning Matt."
Whether or not Curry is to blame for Lauer's woes, she likely feels herself to be the first one who went under the bus. But her silence is now bringing Lauer along with her.
