--- title: Ann Curry's History With Matt Lauer and the Today Show description: Ann Curry gained national attention for her emotional goodbye when she was fired from the Today show. canonical: https://time.com/5105990/ann-currys-complex-relationship-with-matt-lauer-and-the-today-show/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-01-17T20:44:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T18:53:59.993Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Ann Curry's Complex Relationship With Matt Lauer and 'Today' og:description: Her emotional goodbye in 2012 is a landmark moment in morning television og:url: https://time.com/5105990/ann-currys-complex-relationship-with-matt-lauer-and-the-today-show/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcf4c13e0203d5fb5/6988e73a97cdff35006b3682/ann-curry-matt-lauer.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Today - Season 61 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ann Curry's Complex Relationship With Matt Lauer and 'Today' twitter:description: Her emotional goodbye in 2012 is a landmark moment in morning television twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcf4c13e0203d5fb5/6988e73a97cdff35006b3682/ann-curry-matt-lauer.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ann Curry's Complex Relationship With Matt Lauer and the _Today_ Show > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Jan 17, 2018 8:44 PM UTC  TODAY -- Pictured: (l-r) Ann Curry and Matt Lauer appear on NBC News' "Today" show -- (Photo by: Peter Kramer/NBC/NBC NewsWire via Getty Images) TODAY -- Pictured: (l-r) Ann Curry and Matt Lauer appear on NBC News' "Today" show -- (Photo by: Peter Kramer/NBC/NBC NewsWire via Getty Images)NBC NewsWire—NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Jan 17, 2018 8:44 PM UTC [Ann Curry](http://time.com/5105633/ann-curry-interview/) will soon make her return to television with her new PBS program _We’ll Meet Again_, but in interviews promoting the show, she is being asked to look backwards — to her exit from the [_Today_](http://time.com/5105426/ann-curry-nbc-today-show-interview/) show nearly six years ago. Curry spent 15 years with NBC’s morning show, and from 2011 to 2012 she served as co-anchor alongside Matt Lauer. Her [tearful on-air announcement](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUtEn5tGsSI) that she was leaving is remembered as a landmark moment in morning show television. NBC has long said the decision was based on ratings, and the network declined to comment on Wednesday. But fans and journalists like then-New York _Times_ media critic Brian Stelter, who detailed the tension between Lauer and Curry in his 2013 book [“Top of the Morning,”](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/21/magazine/who-can-save-the-today-show.html?pagewanted=all&%5Fr=0) believe Lauer had something to do with her departure. In an interview on [_CBS This Morning_](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ann-curry-matt-lauer-firing-today-show-sexual-harassment/) on Wednesday, co-anchor Gayle King said to Curry, “It was viewed that a very powerful man, meaning Matt Lauer, derailed your career.” Curry — after joking, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to start crying” — responded, “You should ask someone else, I’m not the one to ask about that … I don’t know what was all behind it. I do know that it hurt like hell.” Asked if she thought [Lauer](http://time.com/5084943/matt-lauer-hoda-kotb-text/) – who was fired in November over claims of sexual misconduct – abused his power, Curry said, “I’m trying to do no harm in these conversations. I can tell you that I am not surprised by the allegations.” When King asked Curry whether she “heard things” or “knew things” while she was at NBC, Curry responded: “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 I, because you’re asking me a very direct question, I would be surprised if many women did not understand that there was a climate of verbal harassment that existed.” After Lauer’s firing, some of Curry’s fans took to social media to speculate how she felt about the news. The meme “Somewhere Ann Curry” imagined the former co-anchor greeting the news in various ways, [for instance](http://people.com/tv/ann-curry-reaction-matt-lauer-scandal/), “Somewhere Ann Curry is breaking out that champagne.” Curry [told _People_](http://people.com/tv/ann-curry-reaction-matt-lauer-scandal/) this week that she didn’t revel in Lauer’s firing at all. Instead, she said: “I wish I could say that I was celebrating. But actually I immediately checked myself. 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