Former "Today" Anchor Ann Curry Said She Was "Not Surprised" By Sexual Harassment Allegations Against Matt Lauer

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Former Today Show anchor Ann Curry said she was not surprised when she heard about sexual misconduct allegations against her former co-anchor Matt Lauer. In her first television interview since leaving NBC in 2015, Curry, appearing on CBS This Morning, said she'd be surprised if other women at NBC didn't understand there was a pervasive culture of verbal sexual harassment.

Asked whether she believed Lauer abused his power in his position, Curry said she was "not trying to do harm in these conversations," but that she was "not surprised" by the allegations against him.

Lauer was fired from Today in November, following multiple reports of sexual misconduct from coworkers.

Asked again about the allegations against her former co-host, Curry repeated, "I'm trying not to hurt people. 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."

"I can say that I -- 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," she continued. "I think it would be surprising if someone said that they didn't see that. It was verbal sexual harassment."

Curry added that she did not know "a single woman who has not endured some form of sexual harassment, and many women have endured workplace sexual harassment," saying that harassment has "happened to her in multiple jobs, and it's a way of sidelining women."

Ultimately, Curry said, these types of abuses are bad not only for women in the workplace, but for the companies they work for and the nation — as it "limits people."

Curry also said that the national conversation should be focusing more on the victims than on the scandals, and on plans of action.

"What are we going to do is remove the stigma and shame and make sure these women are working and not sidelined and prevented from contributing to the greater good," she said.

Curry went on to discuss her new six-part series on PBS, titled "We'll Meet Again," about people who have lived through major events in history and their experiences.

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