“He was giving me endless s—,” Couric said.
“He was prickly, but, what a talent.
He’s such a seamless broadcaster, eloquent.
Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel.Unique Nicole/Getty; Arturo Holmes/Getty
“Complicated guy, though, I think… really talented guy, incredibly smart,” she said.
“He got mad at me because I was doing something on maternity leave.
And he was giving me endless s— for taking like a month or two off.
Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel.Brownie Harris/Corbis via Getty
I was having my first baby.”
“I could see that,” Maher responded.
Couric said, acknowledging that there was a joking tone involved.
“He was goofing on me but giving me a lot of s—.
But it was emblematic of sort of an incredibly sexist attitude.”
Brownie Harris/Corbis via Getty
Gumbel first appeared onTodayin 1982 and was joined by Couric in 1991.
They worked together until Gumbel left in 1997.
Couric stayed at NBC until 2006.
“Obviously, there was a tradition of an old boys' connection,” Maher said.
“It was a very different environment, very different,” Couric added.
“Lots of fraternization, a polite way of saying inner-office schtupping.”
Representatives for Gumbel andTodaydid not respond to a request for comment.
