Katie Couric Explains Why She Didn’t Respond To Matt Lauer’s ‘Pinching’ Immediately

Katie Couric recently explained why she did not immediately come forward about Matt Lauer’s insensitive deed from several years ago.

While speaking with Entertainment Tonight, the “Today” host said that it took her a while to come to terms with what her former co-host did. In November, it was revealed that Lauer pinched Couric’s butt a couple of times.

“It’s been really crushing. I think there’s been a lot of cognitive dissonance for me and a lot of people on the show, and clearly the behavior was unacceptable and shocking for so many of us, and yet we also knew a side of Matt and many positive attributes,” she explained.

After reports about Lauer’s alleged sexual misconduct came to light, Couric and her friends who also know him struggled to make sense of what happened.

Meanwhile, Couric also explained her 2012 statement about Lauer when she said that the most annoying thing about her then-co-host was that he pinched her butt a lot.

“I mean, I think that’s very illustrative of the current media landscape, that something can be plucked, and then taken out of context. Like, it’s a silly joke on a late night show that was just that, a silly joke, and people, I think, read into everything these days, and I think it just goes with the territory. But it was nice for me to be able to say that that was a joke,” she explained.

Couric wanted to say as early as November that her comments about Lauer were just a joke, but she also had to process everything that happened first.

When asked if she and Lauer are communicating with each other, Couric simply refused to answer. “That’s kind of a personal matter. I think not everything has to be for public consumption these days,” she said.

Lauer has been fired from “Today” after multiple women accused him of sexual assault and harassment. Earlier this week, Fox News reported that he’s been trying to reconnect with his family during this difficult time.