Meredith Vieira on Matt Lauer and Ann Curry's "Mishandled" Today Show Fallout - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

simmytbone · 08-01-2014, 02:54 AM

http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-...allout-2014317

Meredith Vieira Talks Matt Lauer and Ann Curry's "Mishandled" Today Show Fallout: "S--- Happens"

Meredith knows! Former Today show co-host Meredith Vieira told The Hollywood Reporter that she felt for both Ann Curry and Matt Lauer during their epic fallout back in 2012.

"That was such a bad time," Vieira, 60, noted of Curry's abrupt departure from the NBC program that June. "I really felt for Matt a lot. And I felt for Ann, too. It turned so nasty, really nasty. Every day you're reading this stuff that is just beyond cruel from angry, angry people who felt that Ann had been slighted and embarrassed and humiliated."

As detailed at the time in Brian Stelter's buzzy book Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV, Curry had a tense relationship with her Today show co-anchor Lauer. When she was replaced after one year by Savannah Guthrie, fans felt Lauer was the one to blame. Noting that, Vieira said: "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 Vieira didn't give any advice to Lauer during that time period, she did offer friendship and comfort. "I just told him I loved him and I was there for him," the former View co-host told THR. "But I never sugarcoated what had happened. 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."

According to a startling New York magazine piece last March, Lauer was not a fan of Curry from the get-go. "Everybody at NBC, everybody at the Today show, everybody understood that Ann was kicked out of her position because Matt didn't want her there," a prominent NBC staff member told the publication. "That's why it was so personal between Ann and Matt."

Even Don Nash, the longtime executive producer of the show, saw how Lauer and Curry's tense relationship translated on-screen. "You can't fake it for very long that early in the morning," Nash told NY Mag at the time. "I think viewers have a sixth sense about all that. If your two anchors don't like each other off the air, they're not going to be fooled if they love each other on the air."

Nash, though, sang Vieira's praises to THR. "She's not impressed by fame, money, prestige or the ability to set the agenda. What's important to her is to have a happy family life," he said. "She's the poster child for someone who figured it out."

Indeed, Vieira seems to have figured out—and accepted—that conflict happens in the workplace. "You know what," she mused to THR of the Curry-Lauer saga, "s--- happens. People make mistakes. We all do."

credit: usmagazine.com

TMC · 02-03-2016, 05:20 AM

REASONS MATT LAUER ISN'T AS NICE AS HE SEEMS

Edward216 · 02-04-2016, 12:29 AM

I must be dumb then. I never had any idea Matt Lauer and Ann Curry supposedly don't like each other (I thought they did but apparently not) until she was fired and there was all this stuff in the press. It seemed to me when she was on the Today show they got along. But I'll admit by the time she was fired I hadn't watched Today in several years.

Ed.

simmytbone · 02-04-2016, 12:40 AM

Yes, Matt Lauer seemed too bitter after Katie Couric left the show, but when Meredith was on there, the ratings were still good, but after she left, Ann Curry took over and Meredith wanted Ann to take her spot, but when she got FIRED from Today, that's when I gave up on the show

The only time I would watch it was on the weekends with Lester Holt and Erica Hill, but now with Lester on NBC Nightly News 5 days a week, I still watch the show on weekends

IMO, The Today Show isn't what it use to be, especially since they made the show 4 hours which is still an overkill

Edward216 · 02-04-2016, 10:48 PM

Yeah, I quit watching after Katie Couric left.

Ed.

08-01-2014, 02:54 AM	#1
simmytbone Member Senior Member Join Date: Apr 17, 2009 Posts: 1,513	Meredith Vieira on Matt Lauer and Ann Curry's "Mishandled" Today Show Fallout http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-...allout-2014317 Meredith Vieira Talks Matt Lauer and Ann Curry's "Mishandled" Today Show Fallout: "S--- Happens" Meredith knows! Former Today show co-host Meredith Vieira told The Hollywood Reporter that she felt for both Ann Curry and Matt Lauer during their epic fallout back in 2012. "That was such a bad time," Vieira, 60, noted of Curry's abrupt departure from the NBC program that June. "I really felt for Matt a lot. And I felt for Ann, too. It turned so nasty, really nasty. Every day you're reading this stuff that is just beyond cruel from angry, angry people who felt that Ann had been slighted and embarrassed and humiliated." As detailed at the time in Brian Stelter's buzzy book Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV, Curry had a tense relationship with her Today show co-anchor Lauer. When she was replaced after one year by Savannah Guthrie, fans felt Lauer was the one to blame. Noting that, Vieira said: "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 Vieira didn't give any advice to Lauer during that time period, she did offer friendship and comfort. "I just told him I loved him and I was there for him," the former View co-host told THR. "But I never sugarcoated what had happened. 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." According to a startling New York magazine piece last March, Lauer was not a fan of Curry from the get-go. "Everybody at NBC, everybody at the Today show, everybody understood that Ann was kicked out of her position because Matt didn't want her there," a prominent NBC staff member told the publication. "That's why it was so personal between Ann and Matt." Even Don Nash, the longtime executive producer of the show, saw how Lauer and Curry's tense relationship translated on-screen. "You can't fake it for very long that early in the morning," Nash told NY Mag at the time. "I think viewers have a sixth sense about all that. If your two anchors don't like each other off the air, they're not going to be fooled if they love each other on the air." Nash, though, sang Vieira's praises to THR. "She's not impressed by fame, money, prestige or the ability to set the agenda. What's important to her is to have a happy family life," he said. "She's the poster child for someone who figured it out." Indeed, Vieira seems to have figured out—and accepted—that conflict happens in the workplace. "You know what," she mused to THR of the Curry-Lauer saga, "s--- happens. People make mistakes. We all do." *credit: usmagazine.com*
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02-03-2016, 05:20 AM	#2
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 127,430	REASONS MATT LAUER ISN'T AS NICE AS HE SEEMS

02-04-2016, 12:29 AM	#3
Edward216 Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Aug 18, 2014 Location: Central Time Zone Posts: 4,648	I must be dumb then. I never had any idea Matt Lauer and Ann Curry supposedly don't like each other (I thought they did but apparently not) until she was fired and there was all this stuff in the press. It seemed to me when she was on the Today show they got along. But I'll admit by the time she was fired I hadn't watched Today in several years. Ed.

02-04-2016, 12:40 AM	#4
simmytbone Member Senior Member Join Date: Apr 17, 2009 Posts: 1,513	Yes, Matt Lauer seemed too bitter after Katie Couric left the show, but when Meredith was on there, the ratings were still good, but after she left, Ann Curry took over and Meredith wanted Ann to take her spot, but when she got FIRED from Today, that's when I gave up on the show The only time I would watch it was on the weekends with Lester Holt and Erica Hill, but now with Lester on NBC Nightly News 5 days a week, I still watch the show on weekends IMO, The Today Show isn't what it use to be, especially since they made the show 4 hours which is still an overkill

02-04-2016, 10:48 PM	#5
Edward216 Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Aug 18, 2014 Location: Central Time Zone Posts: 4,648	Yeah, I quit watching after Katie Couric left. Ed.