Katie Couric on Matt Lauer's 'Today' Show Firing and Sexual Misconduct Controversy: 'The Whole Thing Has Been Very Painful for Me'
Katie Couric has finally spoken out regarding her former "Today" show co-star Matt Lauer's firing and sexual harassment accusations.
"The whole thing has been very painful for me," Katie Couric told People magazine. "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," she went on to say.
The 61-year-old journalist had worked with Lauer on the "Today" show for 15 years until her departure back in 2006. With the controversy surrounding Matt Lauer and his conduct at work, Couric explains that she had not been unaware that such a thing had been happening. However, she also said Lauer had always treated her with respect.
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"I had no idea this was going on during my tenure or after I left," she said. "I think I speak for many of my former colleagues when I say this was not the Matt we knew. Matt was a kind and generous colleague who treated me with respect," Couric continued.
Couric also commended Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb as well as the entire staff of the "Today" show for effectively handling the announcement and situation.
It had been over a month since Matt Lauer had been fired from the "Today" show after NBC News had received a detailed complaint from the show host's colleague regarding inappropriate sexual behavior. The network also claimed that it may not have been an isolated incident which caused them to terminate Lauer after spending 20 years with him.
Lauer has since apologized in a statement, and amid the allegations that he is facing, a 2012 interview of Katie Couric on Andy Cohen's show "Watch What Happens Live" had resurfaced wherein she was asked about the former's most annoying habit. She replied: "he pinches me on the ass a lot." However in her latest interview, she stressed that it had all been a joke and such a thing contradicts their brother–sister relationship.
