The weather got unseasonably chilly in London Thursday morning, when Ann Curry was reunited with Matt Lauer on her very first appearance on the NBC morning show since her controversial ouster as co-host in June.
Sitting beside Lauer on the show's temporary outdoor Olympics home, Curry, 55, was on hand to introduce a taped segment about Olympics still photographer Adam Pretty. Cordial but decidedly not chatty, a straight-faced Curry rebuffed former co-host Lauer's attempts at a conversation.
When Lauer, 54, greeted her with an "Ann, nice to see you," Curry stayed quiet and nodded. She similarly didn't reply when, following her segment, Lauer said, "Good to see you."
The tense reunion isn't too surprising. In a heartbreaking farewell, Curry burst into tears when saying goodbye to viewers and her colleagues after the show fired her as co-host — replaced by Savannah Guthrie — after just one year as co-host and 15 years on the series.
Behind the scenes, it was a different story. "It was so icy on the set," an insider told Us Weekly of the days leading up to Curry's exit. "You could cut the tension with a knife."
"When the cameras stopped rolling, Ann wouldn't even look at Matt," says the set source. (Indeed, Curry pointedly hugged each of her colleagues except for Lauer on her final show.)
Of Curry's job switch, NBC News president Steve Capus told the Hollywood Reporter: "I think [TODAY] was not where her real passion was, . . . In her heart of hearts, I think she would admit that. I think her real passion is built around reporting on international stories . . . I think we’ve now come up with a role that will play to her strengths."
