Following the news that the Today Show has fired Matt Lauer as co-anchor, many of his comments and on-air actions throughout the years are coming back up to the surface in a new light.
The long-time journalist has been accused of repeatedly harassing female co-workers at NBC, often times with lewd comments and insinuations. Resurfacing since the allegations are jokes made at Lauer’s Friars Club Roast in 2008 that take on a much darker connotation.
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Celebrity roasts at the New York Friars Club have been going on for years, and some allowances must be made for the language and material discussed there, considering that the whole point of these roasts is to skewer famous figures for their foibles. Roasts always contain some measure of hyperbole and bawdiness, but after Wednesday’s revelations, Lauer has proved that a lot of truth is said in jest.
The most notable vulgarity began when Katie Couric was on stage. Lauer’s long-time co-anchor made some jokes about her televised colonoscopy, saying that during the procedure, the doctors had found Lauer’s head in there.
Later, when Lauer retook the stage, he said “Let me just say that I saw that colon a lot before the rest of you saw it.”
Couric also made a pointed reference to Ann Curry, saying that Lauer “loves to eat curry.” When the crowd laughed, Couric said “Indian food! What is wrong with you people?” Lauer had a response for that too.
“What’s with all the small-dick jokes?” he said. “It was fun to look over and see Ann Curry laughing…like she doesn’t know how big my dick really is.”
Neither Ann Curry nor Katie Couric has responded to Lauer’s termination yet. Although, Curry said in an interview that all the allegations coming to light over the last few months are a victory for women in the workplace.
