Katie Couric stated that her first maternity go away from NBC’s At present present in 1991 was met with an “extremely sexist perspective” from co-anchor Bryant Gumbel.
“He bought mad at me as a result of I used to be doing one thing on maternity go away,” Couric recalled with some laughter on Sunday’s Membership Random podcast with Invoice Maher. “And he was giving me limitless shit for taking like a month or two off. I used to be having my first child.”
Couric recalled Gumbel telling her, “Why don’t you simply drop it within the discipline and are available again to work immediately or one thing?” She acknowledged “he was goofing on me” however nonetheless stated his feedback had been “emblematic of kind of an extremely sexist perspective.”
Couric’s recollection of the incidents was prompted earlier within the episode when Maher introduced up Gumbel, referring to him as a “man’s man” and saying the 2 are “associates.”
“He’s a man’s man, you bought that proper,” Couric responded. “He was prickly, however, what a expertise. He’s such a seamless broadcaster, eloquent. When that countdown would occur — 5, 4, three, two, one — he would simply hit it good.” She added: “Difficult man, although, I believe — actually gifted man, extremely sensible.”
Representatives for At present didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Gumbel first started work on At present in 1982; Couric joined him in 1991, they usually co-anchored collectively till Gumbel’s departure in 1997. Couric stayed till 2006. On Sunday, Maher famous that Matt Lauer was additionally a part of the At present group similtaneously Couric and Gumbel’s overlap.
“Clearly, there was a practice of an previous boys’ community,” Maher stated. Lauer was fired in 2017 amid a number of allegations of sexual misconduct.
“It was a really totally different surroundings, very totally different,” Couric added. “Numerous fraternization, a well mannered approach of claiming inner-office schtupping.”
In response, Maher stated, “Ladies needed to put up with extra. They simply did. I imply, you already know, to not get all fuzzy and Lifetime Channel about it, however folks such as you and Barbara Walters — or similar to ladies comedians of a sure age — you must actually tip your hat to them as a result of it was more durable.”
Couric agreed with the podcast host, including, “I don’t need to use the phrase microaggressions, however should you consider the true definition of the phrase, it was replete with microaggressions.”
