Meredith Vieira is breaking her silence on the highly publicized Today Show fallout between Matt Lauer and an ousted Ann Curry back in 2012.
When Curry was abruptly fired from NBC’s morning news program and replaced by Savannatha Guthrie, many viewers put the blame on Lauer, who they claim got her fired because of their reported hostile relationship of screen.
He later told Esquire, “I was disappointed by the laziness of the media, the willingness to read a rumor, repeat that rumor, and treat it as a fact.”
Vieira now tells The Hollywood Reporter of the “nasty” ordeal, that she felt for both sides.
"That was such a bad time," she said, adding of Lauer, "They basically pointed to one person on whom to take out all of their anger. I don't know if I would have survived that."
While she reminded Lauer she was there for him during that rocky point in his career, she admits she didn’t “sugarcoat” anything.
“I thought it had not been handled smartly from the very beginning, because I don't think they ever felt that was the right fit for Ann so they should never have put her in that position to begin with. And then the ending was so mishandled,” she said.
image via Roger Wong/INFphoto.com