‘Today Show’: Matt Lauer tells Howard Stern about Katie Couric, constant controversy

When you consider the fact that Matt Lauer makes more in a month on “The Today Show” than some people see in a decade, it’s certainly understandable that there would be a certain level of angst surrounding the man. Then, when you remember what happened with Ann Curry’s firing on the show, this multiplies many times over. It’s not easy being Matt all the time, but he at least put a pretty interesting spin on it during an interview with Howard Stern this week.

The entire chat is fascinating, and unfortunately the clip here deals in part with just of the racier bits of content. Lauer does explain that Katie Couric is an “attractive” woman following the revelation that she used to have a crush on him, and said that it is easy to hold a special place for her given that the two worked together long before he did any work with any other co-anchor on the show.

While Lauer did not mention Ann Curry, who left the show last year in a series of moves that came down very badly on him, he did say that he oftentimes takes the blame on the show for a decision that he has very little control over. Can he offer his opinion? Sure, but he is not responsible for the hiring and firing of talent, and thus was not the one who ultimately decided to send her into a different role on the network.

What do you think about some of Lauer’s comments, and do you wish that he was this open about things on his actual show? If you want to also check out one of the recent “lighter” interviews he conducted on the show, you can do so over at the link here.

Photo: NBC