Ann Curry Says She's 'Not Surprised' About Matt Lauer Harassment Allegations

By Isha Aran | January 17, 2018 | 1:50pm

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It’s been nearly two months since Matt Lauer was fired from NBC for sexual harassment and abuse. Now, Ann Curry, the one person it seems everyone has been waiting to hear from, is finally actually speaking out about Lauer.

Curry appeared on CBS This Morning on Wednesday and let loose. And by “let loose,” I mean that she gave a very deliberately restrained statement while also subtly acknowledging the humiliation she was put through (largely believed to be at the hands of Lauer). When Norah O’Donnell asked her if Lauer abused his power, Curry responded, “I’m trying to do no harm in these conversations. I can tell you that I am not surprised by the allegations.”

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When co-host Gayle King asked her to elaborate, Curry continued:

See now I’m walking down that road, I’m trying not to hurt people. And I know what it’s like to be publicly humiliated. I never did anything wrong to be publicly humiliated, and I don’t want to cause that kind of pain to somebody else. But I can say that because you’re asking me a very direct question, I can say that I would be surprised if many women did not understand that there was a climate of verbal harassment that existed. I think it would be surprising if someone said that they didn’t see that.

Curry then appeared to say that “verbal sexual harassment was pervasive,” but King talked over her and the comment got lost. O’Donnell then asked her to confirm that she had said it, and she did.

“You’re asking me a direct question. I’m an honest person. I want to tell you that it was. Yes. Period,” she said.

Curry also discussed the “reckoning” of men in power like Lauer losing their jobs over their own behavior, deeming it “overdue.”