By 
When Matt Lauer was fired from NBC after reports of "inappropriate sexual behavior" in the workplace, many fans asked themselves: what is Ann Curry thinking right now? Curry, Lauer's former Today show co-host, was abruptly fired from the job after just a year, and her exit in 2012 came in a swirl of negative headlines about Lauer and executives at NBC. Here's what you need to know, according to multiple reports.
Curry joined NBC in 1990, starting as a Chicago correspondent, then working as an anchor on NBC News at Sunrise, an early-morning news program, before joining the Today show. By 1995, she replaced Lauer as the news anchor, and filled in for Katie Couric when she was away, and by 2005 she was also a cohost of Dateline NBC.
She was reportedly thought of as next in line for the Today co-anchor spot, but when Couric moved to CBS, Meredith Vieira was hired to replace her. Vieira eventually left the Today show to spend more time with her husband, who suffers from multiple sclerosis. According to New York magazine, Curry was next in line for the job and had negotiated that if she were not made co-anchor, she could leave the network.
Curry got the job, and in June 2011, she started as Lauer's cohost. "I feel like the high school computer nerd who has just been asked to the prom by the quarterback of the football team," Curry said when the announcement was made on the air.
Several months into Curry's tenure as host, executives reportedly noticed a lack of chemistry between Curry and Lauer, and ratings were down. That might be because the two didn't get along off set; according to the New York magazine report, the two didn't speak when cameras weren't rolling. Rumors swirled that Curry would be cut from the show, and those rumors made the tabloids.
According to a report from the New York Times, executives planned to extend Lauer's contract with NBC, fire Curry, and replace her with Savannah Guthrie; the plan was called "Operation Bambi" because someone said that firing Curry would be like "killing Bambi." (An NBC executive denied calling it "Operation Bambi.")
And it seems like she didn't see the change coming. She toldLadies' Home Journal that she expected to be on the Today show for at least five more years. ""I've been at Today for 15 years and I'd love to make it to 20," she told the magazine. Curry did joke about her precarious status on the show on the air, the New York Times notes. On May 15, 2012, she was talking to Betty White, and said, "You've got two shows, you're 90 years old. Honey, how — I mean, I barely am hanging on to one show!"
On June 28, 2012, Curry had her last day as co-anchor after only a year on the job. She never gave a concrete reason for her departure, and tearfully said goodbye during a live broadcast of the show. "For all of you who saw me as a groundbreaker, I'm sorry I couldn't carry the ball over the finish line but, man, I did try," she told viewers. Her position became Anchor at Large and National and International Correspondent, and she tackled larger stories around the world. Savannah Guthrie took over as co-anchor.
And even while she was still at NBC, running her own production unit, rumors kept swirling that Curry was miserable. On August 1, 2012, she tweeted an inspirational quote that many interpreted to refer to her work: "When I despair I remember that throughout history, truth and love have always won." Ratings for the Today show kept falling.
The New York Times reported that Curry's appearances in her new role on NBC were limited, and she generally kept a low profile. But she did report stories from around the world in segments that aired through 2015. In 2013, she became the first woman journalist to interview Hassan Rouhani, the president of Iran.
Curry reportedly told friends that the idea that she and Lauer lacked "chemistry" was an unfair philosophy, and apparently blamed a "boys' club atmosphere" for hurting her career. "'Chemistry,' in television history, generally means the man does not want to work with the woman," Curry reportedly told friends. "It's an excuse generally used by men in positions of power to say, 'The woman doesn't work.'" According to New York magazine, Curry and Lauer appeared together during the London Olympics, but Curry didn't respond as Lauer tried to make small talk.
In January 2015, Curry officially announced she was leaving NBC to start her own production company. She has since worked on a variety of broadcast projects. Currently, she's working on a new PBS series called We'll Meet Again, a six-part docuseries that reunites people affected by news events, like a Japanese-American woman who wanted to find an old classmate who fought off bullies around World War II.
On November 29, 2017, Lauer was fired from the Today show after allegations of "inappropriate sexual behavior." Many fans took to social media to ponder what Curry thought of the news. When asked, Curry declined to respond specifically to the news because she was still "processing" it, but commended women who have spoken out about inappropriate behavior in the workplace recently. "This kind of behavior exists across industries, and it is so long overdue for it to stop," she said.
Lauer released a statement apologizing, saying in part, "There are no words to express my sorrow and regret for the pain I have caused others by words and actions. To the people I have hurt, I am truly sorry." Meanwhile, The Wrap reports an online petition is calling for NBC to hire Curry back.
