Matt Lauer on Ann Curry Exit: 'TODAY' Anchor Fires Back at Media & Compares to Katie Couric 'Bond'
Matt Lauer fired back at the negative media coverage he garnered following the TODAY show departure of his former co-anchor Ann Curry in an interview for the September 2013 issue of Esquire.
The TODAY show co-anchor said he never before talked about how offended he was for getting blamed regarding Curry's exit from the morning show in June 2012. He stayed silent in the past because he thought critics would never sympathize with him in light of his salary.
"Does anyone want to see a person who's making the money that the newspapers say I'm making complaining, 'Woe is me, my life is terrible, and people are being unfair?' No one would've had any patience for that. I wouldn't have any patience for that," Lauer told the magazine.
"You're going to have 20 years as host of the Today show, and 18 of those years are going to be so unbelievably fantastic that you're going to think you're living in a fantasy world. And one or two of those years is going to be incredibly frustrating and challenging."
Lauer subtly took a dig at Curry in his interview and hinted that he and his former co-anchor never really had a connection. He referenced his experience working with Katie Couric as more than good chemistry, but a "bond." The pair worked together on NBC's morning show from the 1990s through to 2006.
"There's a difference between good chemistry and a bond," he said of his relationship with Couric. "Chemistry is something you have with somebody you meet - or you don't. It's an intangible. It may be superficial. It's much harder to put your finger on than a bond. Broadcasting through 9/11 together, like Katie Couric and I did, creates a bond."
Lauer made no mention of how he feels about currently working with Savanna Guthrie.
Lauer opened up for the first time in March about Curry's tearful exit from TODAY, which led to her being replaced by Guthrie.
"I don't think the show and the network handled the transition well. You don't have to be Einstein to know that," Lauer told The Daily Beast. "It clearly did not help us. We were seen as a family, and we didn't handle a family matter well."
Matt Lauer Talks Ann Curry 'TODAY' Exit for the First Time: It 'Did Not Help Us' (WATCH VIDEO)
Kathie Lee Gifford, who co-hosts the third hour of TODAY, created a petition letter to support Lauer in light of the negative backlash he received for Curry's exit, Enstars previously reported.
