Katie Couric mentioned that her first maternity depart from NBC’s Immediately present in 1991 was met with an “extremely sexist perspective” from co-anchor Bryant Gumbel.
“He obtained mad at me as a result of I used to be doing one thing on maternity depart,” Couric recalled with some laughter on Sunday’s Membership Random podcast with Invoice Maher. “And he was giving me countless 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 subject and are available again to work instantly or one thing?” She acknowledged “he was goofing on me” however nonetheless mentioned his feedback have been “emblematic of type 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 “pals.”
“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: “Sophisticated man, although, I feel — actually proficient man, extremely sensible.”
Representatives for Immediately didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Gumbel first started work on Immediately in 1982; Couric joined him in 1991, and so they 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 Immediately staff similtaneously Couric and Gumbel’s overlap.
“Clearly, there was a practice of an outdated boys’ community,” Maher mentioned. 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. “A lot of fraternization, a well mannered method of claiming inner-office schtupping.”
In response, Maher mentioned, “Girls needed to put up with extra. They only did. I imply, you realize, to not get all fuzzy and Lifetime Channel about it, however folks such as you and Barbara Walters — or identical to girls comedians of a sure age — you need to actually tip your hat to them as a result of it was tougher.”
Couric agreed with the podcast host, including, “I don’t need to use the phrase microaggressions, however when you consider the true definition of the phrase, it was replete with microaggressions.”