Ann Curry Speaks Out About ‘Pervasive Verbal Sexual Harassment’ At NBC

Despite a non-disclosure agreement causing Ann Curry reluctance about talking about Matt Lauer and sexual harassment at NBC, the former Today co-anchor recently spoke out about the situation.

Page Six reported that Curry revealed there was “pervasive verbal sexual harassment at NBC” during her tenure there. In fact, she claims that in 2012, she warned NBC management that they had a problem with her co-host Lauer. However, NBC doesn’t have a record of the complaint and Curry will not reveal the names of the managers she spoke to about the problem.

In 2012, according to Curry, one of her female co-workers asked her for help in dealing with a situation with Lauer. The woman was afraid of losing her job if she spoke out on her own. Curry said she believed her female co-worker.

Plus, Curry understands why it’s difficult to report a sexual harassment situation to HR. People who report these matters run the risk of reporting something to somebody who may or may not be accused of sexual harassment, and the lines blur quickly. Curry said she doesn’t believe most companies have a system in place to allow employees to make reports without fear of reprisal and losing their jobs.

On Wednesday, Lauer spoke out about the sexual harassment claims. While he admitted that he acted inappropriately as a husband, the former Today host categorically denied that he was abusive, aggressive, or coercive at any time. He said the allegations against him are false.

Ann Curry said that in 2012 she "told management they had a problem and that they needed to keep an eye on [Lauer] and how he deals with women" https://t.co/QQmdAuaIxO pic.twitter.com/9zbXN8aX48

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) April 27, 2018

Now NBC has another significant blow to handle. Former news anchor Tom Brokaw stands accused of inappropriate sexual behavior by a former NBC News war correspondent, Linda Vester, according to Variety. She said in the 1990s, Brokaw attempted to kiss her and tickled her on separate occasions during her time at the network.

The reason Vester came forward with her allegations is that she wanted to show the world the type of culture NBC News has maintained over the years. She’s unhappy that NBC did an internal investigation after firing Matt Lauer instead of hiring an outside firm to investigate the way the network handles these types of situations.

Indeed, with Ann Curry’s revelations, Vester’s new allegations, and the Matt Lauer accusations, NBC now knows it has a problem, and it looks like the network has known about it for at least a few years.