Katie Couric Blasts NBC Over Ann Curry’s Dismissal

Katie Couric has blasted NBC and the Today show for abruptly ousting Ann Curry, saying that she felt “terrible” for her former colleague, and the way NBC handled her dismissal.

Couric, who also hosted the Today show from 1991 to 2006, as well as worked alongside Curry at CBS Evening News, has said that the network’s handling of her former co-worker’s firing in June was “not the best chapter” for the show, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Couric stated:

“I felt really bad for Ann. I still don’t understand why they didn’t give her sort of a proper send-off. Ann did some extraordinary work during her time there. It was just not the best chapter in the Today show. It made me sad for the institution.”

Couric is just weeks from launching Katie, a new talk show she will be hosting, and is apparently not able to drop the issue of Ann Curry’s dismissal, coming to the former Today show co-host’s defense more than once. The Daily Mail reports that, after Curry’s last show aired in June, Couric stated:

“It really broke my heart this morning to see Ann, because I know she’s suffering and is feeling a lot of pain with this transition. I know that it’s really hard for everyone on the show. I still have a lot of great friends that I made over those 15 years on the Today show, and this kind of tumult is really hard for everyone.”

Katie Couric has said that her new show will include high-profile guests like Jessica Simpson, E.L. James, Chelsea Handler, flesh-eating bacteria victim Aimee Copeland, and Amanda Knox’s ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito. With Katie Couric’s lambasting of NBC, however, it is likely the network has less love for the former Today show co-host.