Ann Curry TODAY Show: Dissed By Producers For Grey Hair, Bright Colors & Flat Shoes
Ann Curry revealed in an interview prior to exit from "TODAY" that her on-air wardrobe didn't always agree with the producers of the show.
"One day I wore a multicoloured dress and someone asked if I was trying to be Toucan Sam," she told Ladies Home Journal magazine. "But I chose it because I thought, 'this will perk up America.'"
The 55-year-old disclosed in the cover story that she was often encouraged to wear high heels on-camera despite feeling uncomfortable:
"I'm encouraged by my bosses to wear these ridiculously high heel shoes because women say: 'I love your shoes!' So if it makes women happy, I'll wear them. But I'm still going to be me."
"I've tried to wear clogs and flats and it hasn't gone over very well with my bosses," she added.
The revealing interview was conducted before Curry's highly publicized departure. The cover story ran in the August issue of Ladies Home Journal. Curry's last day as co-host at TODAY was June 28.
The 55-year-old also shared why she refused to dye her gray hair when they suggested she did:
"I've got gray hair because I won't dye it. I want to be able to honor my family by looking exactly as they did as they got older. ...But I don't want to change the fundamental parts of me because it means changing who I am."
"A pair of cute flats and few gray hairs are what I consider 'sensible chic," TV Style expert Katie Rice Jones told Radar Online.
"It's a shame. These days it seems networks are more inclined to hire women who look like beauty queens than women who report like Barbara Walters," she added.
Curry ended a year long stint as co-host with Matt Lauer after NBC's ratings declined. The morning show garnered the most viewers for 16 years and was topped by ABC's "Good Morning America." The defeat led to Curry being replaced by "Today" reporter Savannah Guthrie.
Curry later became "Today" anchor-at-large and an international and national correspondent for NBC News.
There was speculation of a possible departure prior to Curry's exit, but it was so abrupt that she was tearful on her final show.
