We might obtain a fee on purchases created from hyperlinks.

The next article contains allegations of sexual assault.

Few tv exhibits have skilled the longevity of NBC’s “At this time.” Making its debut in 1952, “At this time” blazed trails in broadcasting as TV’s first morning present, setting the template for the quite a few imitators that adopted. Since then, the present has continued to evolve, delivering a mixture of information, climate, and celeb interviews that is confirmed to be a profitable components with viewers.

Commercial

After all, “At this time” has not been with out its controversies over time. Early on, the present pulled off one of many strangest stunts in TV historical past by bringing in a chimpanzee named J. Fred Muggs to co-anchor with Dave Garroway. Behind the scenes, the chimp proved violent and problematic, as soon as biting actor Martha Raye when she appeared on the present. Whereas it is a provided that PETA would immediately decry utilizing an animal that method, viewers had been delighted by his antics. Throughout the primate’s time on the present, Muggs boosted scores and was even despatched on a tour across the globe to advertise “At this time.”

Since then, “At this time” has skilled some far darker scandals, starting from the firing of a once-beloved anchor resulting from some surprising allegations of sexual misconduct, to the backlash that ensued when a veteran feminine anchor was seemingly shoved apart to make method for a youthful girl. To seek out out extra concerning the present’s historical past of controversy, learn on to expertise the shady aspect of the “At this time” present.

Commercial

In 2012, Ann Curry had been part of “At this time” for a few 12 months when she introduced she was leaving to take one other job at NBC Information. “I’ve referred to as the co-host job on the ‘At this time’ present my dream job, and I’d be mendacity if I stated it was simple to depart that job,” she instructed USA At this time (through the Each day Information).

Commercial

The circumstances surrounding Curry’s exit had been murky till the publication of “High of the Morning: Contained in the Cutthroat World of Morning TV” by New York Occasions reporter Brian Stelter. In line with Stelter, Curry’s ouster was engineered by co-host Matt Lauer, who reportedly had knives out for Curry since she arrived. “It wasn’t apparent on the time, however Ann Curry was a lifeless girl strolling,” Stelter instructed ET. “She was by no means actually given an opportunity to co-host the present. She was being undermined the entire time.” In line with Stelter, a plan was hatched — dubbed “Operation Bambi” — to ditch Curry and exchange her with Savannah Guthrie.

Whereas Curry has admitted she will’t be fully positive concerning the accuracy of Stelter’s report, she has her suspicions. “They are saying the place there’s smoke, there’s fireplace. You may learn the tea leaves. However you understand, I am a fact-based reporter, so it is laborious for me to go on the market, with one thing so near the vest. I do not know,” she instructed Elle in 2020. Curry ultimately left NBC Information totally in 2015, however admitted that she nonetheless hadn’t gotten over her “At this time” exit. “It truthfully hurts actually deeply,” she stated, “as a result of I actually assume I did nothing mistaken.”

Commercial

Following her temporary tenure at “At this time,” Ann Curry revealed how she actually felt about Matt Lauer, divulging that she instructed administration about disturbing claims about Matt Lauer that feminine staffers shared together with her. Nonetheless, the you-know-what did not actually hit the fan for Lauer till November 2017, when former NBC staffer Brooke Nevils accused Matt Lauer of sexual assaulting her whereas they lined the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. “It was nonconsensual in that I stated, a number of occasions, that I did not wish to have anal intercourse,” Nevils claimed (through Selection). Lauer accused Nevils of mendacity, insisting her allegation was “categorically false,” and describing what occurred as an “extramarital, however consensual, sexual encounter.”

Commercial

Lauer’s claims of innocence weren’t helped when a number of extra girls got here ahead to make related accusations. In the meantime, reviews emerged indicating that Lauer’s habits had been an open secret with “At this time” staffers, and NBC Information administration had been complicit. “They protected the s*** out of Matt Lauer,” an nameless former reporter instructed Selection.

Lastly, NBC Information chairman Andy Lack fired Lauer, asserting the choice in a memo (obtained by Vainness Truthful). “Whereas it’s the first criticism about his habits within the over 20 years he is been at NBC Information,” wrote Lack, “we had been additionally introduced with motive to consider this may occasionally not have been an remoted incident.” After his departure, Lauer’s assertion expressed contrition over the allegations. “There are not any phrases to precise my sorrow and remorse for the ache I’ve triggered others by phrases and actions,” he wrote, including, “I notice the depth of the harm and disappointment I’ve left behind at dwelling and at NBC.”

Commercial

Katie Couric has had many unforgettable moments within the newsroom, and through her 15-year stint as anchor of “At this time,” she spent her first 5 alongside co-anchor Bryant Gumbel. Whereas the 2 bantered for the cameras, their off-camera relationship wasn’t all the time so constructive. As Couric defined throughout an look on the “Membership Random with Invoice Maher” podcast, she obtained pushback from Gumbel when she went on maternity go away after welcoming her first child.

Commercial

“He acquired mad at me,” she stated. “And he was giving me countless s*** for taking like a month or two off. I used to be having my first child.” Actually, she even recalled her co-anchor telling her, “‘Why do not you simply drop it within the area and are available again to work immediately or one thing?'” In line with Couric, she was conscious that Gumbel “was goofing on me,” but nonetheless discovered his remarks to be “emblematic of type of an extremely sexist angle.”

After Gumbel’s exit, Couric was partnered with Matt Lauer. In a 2021 return to “At this time,” Couric admitted that she was by no means a firsthand witness to Lauer’s sketchy double life, however determined to do her personal reporting. What she found left her unsettled. “As I acquired extra info and discovered what was occurring behind the scenes, it was actually upsetting and disturbing,” she expressed. “And it was actually devastating, but additionally disgusting.”

Commercial

Whereas the downfall of Matt Lauer stays disturbing, one other allegation of sexual misconduct surfaced. This time, the accused was former “NBC Nightly Information” anchor Tom Brokaw, who hosted of “At this time” from 1976 till 1982.

Commercial

The accusation was made by former NBC Information warfare correspondent Linda Vester, who claimed that Brokaw made a number of undesirable sexual advances to her, together with twice making an attempt to power himself on with an undesirable kiss. She additionally claimed that he groped her and as soon as confirmed up uninvited to her lodge room. As she instructed Selection, there was a motive she hadn’t spoken up earlier. “There was a tradition at NBC Information, in my expertise, the place girls who elevate questions on misconduct get labeled as troublemakers,” she stated. “It could possibly torpedo your profession. I already knew that, so I did not wish to make any hassle.”

Brokaw responded by denying Vester’s claims, issuing an announcement to Selection insisting his dealings had been her had been nothing lower than skilled, and that he’d “made no romantic overtures in the direction of her, at the moment or some other.” Brokaw additionally wrote a considerable e mail to pals and colleagues, rebutting every of her claims intimately. “It’s 4:00 am on the primary day of my new life as an accused predator within the universe of American journalism,” Brokaw started his missive (through Vainness Truthful). Vester’s legal professional, Ari Wilkenfeld, instructed Vainness Truthful, “My consumer stands by the allegations, which converse for themselves.”

Commercial

The shady aspect of Megyn Kelly is well-known, and she or he generated controversy from the second she was employed away from Fox Information by NBC in 2017. Her first gig for her new community, an interview with scandal-ridden conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, was hit with backlash, even earlier than she started her new position internet hosting “Megyn Kelly At this time,” taking on the third hour of the “At this time” present.

Commercial

Drubbed by critics, “Megyn Kelley At this time” didn’t final lengthy. In October 2018, she and a few company had been discussing the seemingly benign matter of Halloween costumes when she appeared to supply a protection of white folks darkening their pores and skin for his or her costume. “What’s racist?” she requested. “You do get in hassle if you’re a white one that places on blackface for Halloween, or a black one that places on whiteface for Halloween. Again once I was a child, that was okay simply so long as you had been dressing as a personality.”

The backlash to her remarks was each livid and instantaneous. Regardless of a clumsy on-air apology, Black “At this time” colleagues Al Roker and Craig Melvin each criticized her unabashedly. Inside days, NBC cancelled her present. There was one not-so-tiny downside: Kelly had signed a massively profitable three-year contract, value a reported $69 million. After months of negotiating, she parted methods with NBC. She landed on her ft, although, and was reportedly paid out the rest of her contract.

Commercial

For actors with a brand new film to advertise, the “At this time” present is usually certainly one of their first stops. When Tom Cruise dropped by the present in 2005 to plug “Warfare of the Worlds,” Matt Lauer shifted gears to debate Cruise’s then-recent feud with Brooke Shields, whom he chided publicly for revealing she was capable of overcome extreme postpartum despair with the assistance of antidepressants (Cruise is an a longtime member of the Church of Scientology, which takes a extremely unfavorable view of psychiatry).

Commercial

That led Lauer to dig into Cruise’s Scientology-fueled beliefs about psychiatry and psychiatric medicine, resulting in some contentious moments. “Right here we’re immediately, whereas I discuss out in opposition to medicine and psychiatric abuses, of electrical surprising folks in opposition to their will, of drugging youngsters with them not realizing,” Cruise stated, his tone turning into more and more angrier. “Have you learnt now that Ritalin is a road drug?” he continued. When Lauer tried to interject, Cruise shut him down. “Matt, I am asking you a query,” he continued, after which imperiously declared, “This is the issue. You do not know the historical past of psychiatry. I do.”

A couple of years later, Cruise returned to “At this time” with a brand new angle, admitting the PR harm wrought by his interview was deserved. “I discovered a lesson,” Cruise stated. “In myself, I got here throughout conceited,” he added. “I completely might have dealt with that higher.”

Commercial

Throughout the years she spent chugging chardonnay alongside Hoda Kotb on “At this time,” not to mention all these mornings spent with late TV icon Regis Philbin, Kathie Lee Gifford has interviewed numerous celebrities. Her most notorious chat with a star, nevertheless, stays her 2012 “At this time” sit-down with Martin Brief when he requested Brief about his spouse, unaware that she died a few years earlier. “He and Nancy have gotten one of many best marriages of anyone in present enterprise. What number of years now for you guys?” Gifford requested Brief. “We, uh, married 36 years,” Brief responded, stunned however recovering shortly. “However you are still, like, in love!” Gifford gushed, her gaffe turning into much more cringeworthy. “Head over heels in love,” Brief replied. “Why?” Gifford continued, prompting Brief to attempt to shut her down with a joke. “I am cute.”

Commercial

Brief knowledgeable her of his spouse’s passing throughout a industrial break, main her to subject an on-air apology. Within the interview’s aftermath, Brief discovered himself requested about Gifford’s mistake and continued to handle it diplomatically. “It was difficult,” Brief later admitted throughout an interview with iVillage, “but it surely was dealt with, I believe, nicely.”

Throughout a subsequent look on “The Howard Stern Present,” Brief was reminded of the incident and confirmed Gifford was “terribly embarrassed” by her goof. “It is the weirdest factor, as a result of bear in mind, it is dwell tv,” Brief stated, recalling he wasn’t clear on which tense she used when first mentioning his late spouse. “Then she introduced it up once more, and I am pondering, ‘Oh my God.'”

Commercial

Michael Vick transitioned from commemorated quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons to controversial pariah after he wound up pleading responsible to being a part of an unlawful dogfighting ring in 2007. In 2009, Vick was launched from jail after serving a 23-month sentence and signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. In 2011, he inked a six-year deal to stay with the staff.

Commercial

In July 2012, Vick dropped by the “At this time” present, the place he was interviewed by then-host Matt Lauer. Whereas Vick was being launched to viewers, B-roll footage was proven of Vick in motion on the sector. Or no less than that was the intention; what ended up being proven was footage of one other NFL participant, Jerrod Johnson, who performed with the Eagles earlier than signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

It was an embarrassing error for the present, contemplating that the one similarity between the 2 athletes was the truth that each are Black. Plus, Johnson is not sporting Vick’s distinctive No. 7 on his jersey and can be throwing the soccer right-handed (Vick is a leftie).

Think about interviewing a star and laughing at his bragging about what can solely be described as sexual assault — solely to be fired, whereas that celeb is elected president of the united statesA. That is a situation that Billy Bush does not should think about, as a result of he really lived by means of it.

Commercial

Within the fall of 2016, whereas Donald Trump was within the midst of his first run for president, surprising audio was launched through which Bush was interviewing him in 2005 for “Entry Hollywood” and boasted about his stardom permitting him to stroll as much as girls and “seize ’em by the p****.” Trump issued an announcement dismissing the dialog as “locker room banter,” and wound up turning into America’s forty fifth president. Bush, however, was not so fortunate. Having not too long ago begun a brand new gig on “At this time,” he was shortly fired by NBC after just some months.

Bush later appeared on “Good Morning America,” the place he mirrored on his personal unemployment whereas Trump sat within the Oval Workplace. “The irony is obtrusive,” Bush admitted. Laughing at Trump’s remarks, he stated, happened as a result of he had solely been on the present for a short while and felt uncertain of his future with “Entry Hollywood. “I used to be insecure … I used to be a pleaser,” Bush recalled. “I form of bear in mind wanting these celebrities to love me, in order that I might hold going … on this job.”

Commercial

Bryant Gumbel joined “At this time” as anchor in 1982 and remained within the job till his exit in 1997. Arguably, his most infamous second occurred halfway by means of that run, in 1990. That was when a memo he wrote to Marty Ryan, then the manager producer of “At this time,” was leaked to the press.

Commercial

Criticizing the present’s shortcomings, Gumbel pulled no punches — significantly when it got here to jovial “At this time” weatherman Willard Scott. “Every day he holds the present hostage with to his assortment of whims, needs, birthdays, and unhealthy style,” Gumbel wrote. “This man is killing us and nobody’s even attempting to rein him in … you do not restrict him or edit him, and so he drags us all down.” Gumbel’s intentions had been clear when he ended the memo by writing, “I simply hope this all stays confidential as a result of it is solely meant that will help you … not damage others.”

Talking to The New York Occasions Journal, NBC government Dick Ebersol — who was then the senior vp accountable for “At this time” — conceded Gumbel’s message was harsh, but additionally identified he was not incorrect. ”Bryant generally is a terribly pushed taskmaster with regards to that present,” stated Ebersol, however added, ”The memo was probably the most insightful doc ever written by a expertise concerning the present he is concerned in.”

Commercial

Bryant Gumbel’s leaked memo preceded a interval of turmoil and plunging scores for “At this time,” one thing he attributed (no less than partly) to his personal phrases turning into public. “I believe one might draw a typical line from the memo to the current and see all the things spinning off it,” he instructed The New York Occasions Journal.

Commercial

Within the community’s desperation to shore up scores, longtime anchor Jane Pauley was getting ready to exit whereas her far-younger alternative, Deborah Norville, was being transitioned into the combo. Viewers didn’t heat to Norville, incorrectly believing her to be chargeable for Pauley’s exist — busting up the on-air household they’d identified and beloved for years. Rankings plummeted, whereas the media had a area day mischaracterizing Norville as knifing her predecessor within the again. Talking with Adweek’s TVNewser, Pauley pinned the false narrative on late Washington Submit TV critic Tom Shales. “[Shales] noticed three folks on the couch saying, ‘Good morning,’ and instantly sees ‘All About Eve,'” Pauley recalled. “After that, we had been off and operating.”

Commercial

In line with Pauley, the media scrutiny of what was supposedly going down behind the scenes was intense. “Nearly every single day there was one thing concerning the transition,” Pauley stated. “It was mischaracterized, as a result of what was occurring on the community was [happening] behind closed doorways.” In the meantime, Norville had been forbidden from discussing the scenario, which allowed the rumors to proliferate. “There was no method I might put my hand out and cease it,” Norville defined. “It was managed by folks larger up the meals chain in tv than me.” Simply over a 12 months after becoming a member of “At this time,” Norville left the present for maternity go away and was completely changed by Katie Couric.

In case you or anybody you understand has been a sufferer of sexual assault, assist is on the market. Go to the Rape, Abuse & Incest Nationwide Community web site or contact RAINN’s Nationwide Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).