Ann Curry says she brought allegations that Matt Lauer sexually harassed a female collegue to the attention of NBC executives in 2012, but nothing was done. In a Washington Post report outlining new allegations against Lauer and veteran NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw, Curry says that during her final year on the show, a staffer came to her complaining specifically about Lauer’s conduct. “A woman approached me and asked me tearfully if I could help her,†Curry told the Post. “She was afraid of losing her job … I believed her.†Curry told two of her superiors about the complaint, but declined to name which managers she spoke with. “I told management they had a problem and they needed to keep an eye on him and how he deals with women,†she told the Post. NBC disputes Curry’s account, saying there’s no record of her complaint, and that it wasn’t referenced in Lauer’s personnel file.
Curry left the Today show in 2012, amid a ratings dip and drama with Lauer. Though Curry has signed a nondisclosure agreement with NBC, in the time since Lauer was fired after multiple sexual harassment accusations, she has spoken about the difficulty of working there. Matt Lauer continues to deny all allegations of sexual harassment.