Katie Couric Hopes Her Former Co-Host Matt Lauer Understands Why His Behavior Was Wrong

It has been three months since Matt Lauer was ousted from NBC’s Today Show following sexual misconduct allegations, and his former co-host Katie Couric has opened up about where she hopes Matt is at today.

At the TheWrap’s Power Women Breakfast in Austin on Sunday, March 11, Katie, 61, spoke about the disgraced TV news anchor and revealed she was blindsided by the claims. “I hope he’s trying to figure out and understand his behavior and why he did it and why it was so wrong,” she told the all-female audience. “It’s shocking, honestly, and disturbing, disorienting, disheartening — all of those d-words.”

She continued, “But I think, he’s not the only one who behaves in this way. People all over the place… have participated in this kind of behavior, that have used their power in an exploitative and unacceptable way.”

Katie also revealed she has experienced sexism in the workplace but it hit especially close to home with Matt. “It’s been an important experience for me because I never faced this kind of treatment,” she added. “I was one of the lucky ones — I think I am harrassable and I’m not in one sense, and I think it is because I was in a position of power early in my career.”

At the time of Matt’s firing, Katie was adamant she had no idea this type of behavior was going on during her time on the popular morning show and condemned the journalist. “The whole thing has been very painful for me,” she told People magazine. “The accounts I’ve read and heard have been disturbing, distressing and disorienting and it’s completely unacceptable that any woman at the Today Show experienced this kind of treatment.” She also applauded co-hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb for their strength during the difficult transition.

Matt has denied the allegations and is currently in the midst of a divorce from his wife Annette Roque. “Seeing her family and friends convinced her [Annette] was better off without him,” a source told In Touch last month. “After all she’s been through, the nights of crying herself to sleep and trying to divorce him years ago, it was still one of the hardest things she’s ever done.”