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Katie Couric on ‘grossly inappropriate’ allegations against Matt Lauer: ‘It just seemed so callous’

By Megan Armstrong | Last updated 10/13/21

Katie Couric spent 15 years breaking the news of the day alongside former Today co-host Matt Lauer, and she certainly never expected him to become the subject of a story that rocked the nation.

“What upset me the most about hearing these stories [was] that obviously [his behavior] was grossly inappropriate, but also it just seemed so callous,” Couric, 64, said as the cover star of People’s latest issue, adding, “And that's not the Matt I knew. There's a duality in human beings, and sometimes they don't let you see both sides.”

Couric departed Today in 2006, well before former NBC producer Brooke Nevils alleged in November 2017 that Lauer had raped her during the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Several other allegations of sexual assault and misconduct followed, dating back to 2001, and NBC fired Lauer by the end of the month.

Couric acknowledged she knew Lauer was a “player,” but she insisted that the two didn’t have a close enough friendship to “share intimate parts of our lives together.”

“Our offices were next to each other, and so I think when he engaged in this kind of behavior, he was extraordinarily secretive about it," she added. "I [had] heard a few pieces of gossip, that he was involved with an anchor, and I remember thinking, 'Who knows if this is true?' I think it was considered nobody's business. At many news organizations in the '90s and early 2000s there was a lot of inappropriate fraternization."

This isn’t the first time Couric has addressed Lauer’s downfall. You can read her past comments here and here.

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