Katie Couric has finally broken her silence over Matt Lauer’s sexual assault accusations and his firing from the “Today” show.
“The whole thing has been very painful for me,” Couric told People Magazine. “The accounts I’ve read and heard have been disturbing, distressing and disorienting and it’s completely unacceptable that any women at the ‘Today’ show experienced this kind of treatment.”
Couric co-hosted NBC’s “Today” show with Lauer for 15 years, but left in May 2006 to anchor “CBS Evening News.”
“I had no idea this was going on during my tenure or after I left,” she continued. “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. In fact, a joke I once made on late-night television was just that, because it was completely contrary to our brother-sister relationship. It’s still very upsetting.”
The joke Couric referenced was made on “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” in 2012 where Couric said that Lauer “pinches me on the a– a lot.” The recording was heavily circulated after Lauer was fired.
She added, “I really admire the way Savannah (Guthrie) and Hoda (Kotb) and the entire ‘Today’ show staff have handled a very difficult situation.”
Couric has been criticized for not addressing the scandal when it happened last year, but she said that she would speak when she was ready.
(Excerpt) Read More in: Western Journal