The Today show announced this morning that Matt Lauer has been fired from NBC due to allegations of sexual misconduct, so naturally people are combing through his past for warning signs. Turns out, in 2012, there was a big one.
Shortly before Anne Hathaway appeared on the Today show to promote Les Miserables, the news cycle was unfortunately distracted by an upskirt paparazzi photo of the actress getting out of a car. This news cycle included Lauer, who felt the need to address the wardrobe malfunction at the very beginning of their interview.
"Seen a lot of you lately," he quipped, going on to ask what she "learned" from the incident (as if it was in any way her fault).
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"It was obviously an unfortunate incident," she explained evenly. "It kind of made me sad on two accounts. One was that I was very sad that we live in an age when someone takes a picture of another person in a vulnerable moment, and rather than delete it, and do the decent thing, sells it. And I'm sorry that we live in a culture that commodifies the sexuality of unwilling participants. Which brings us back to Les Mis [...] So lets get back to Les Mis."
That was an expert response from Hathaway, who refused to fan the fires, and decided to keep things professional. The tone of the questioning was gross then, and written up by Jezebel, but in light of Lauer's recent firing after an allegation of sexual misconduct, it's even grosser. Twitter, as always, has thoughts.
Wonder what Anne Hathaway is thinking today. https://t.co/qWibEmZ3ve pic.twitter.com/ZoQuxUk7C4
— Irin Carmon (@irin) November 29, 2017
"Wonder what Anne Hathaway is thinking today," writer Irin Carmon tweeted along with a screenshot of the transcript.
remember when Matt Lauer grilled Anne Hathaway about a paparazzi’s exploitative upskirt photo of her, said “seen a lot of you lately,” then asked if she’d learned her lesson? https://t.co/8vYDG754e9
— Amanda Hess (@amandahess) November 29, 2017
"Remember when Matt Lauer grilled Anne Hathaway about a paparazzi’s exploitative upskirt photo of her, said 'seen a lot of you lately,' then asked if she’d learned her lesson?" writer Amanda Hess posted.
Somewhere Anne Hathaway is asking "What lesson did you learn, Matt Lauer?"https://t.co/9VkQ1CUPQz
— Heather Havrilesky (@hhavrilesky) November 29, 2017
"Somewhere Anne Hathaway is asking 'What lesson did you learn, Matt Lauer?'" Columnist Heather Havrilesky added.
Wait, the guy who said, “Seen a lot of you lately” to Anne Hathaway after some creep snapped an upskirt photo of her was sexually inappropriate in the workplace? #today #mattlauerfired pic.twitter.com/msxT3VwNhY
— Rosaleen O'Mahony (@RosaleenOMahony) November 29, 2017
"Wait, the guy who said, 'Seen a lot of you lately' to Anne Hathaway after some creep snapped an upskirt photo of her was sexually inappropriate in the workplace?" joked another viewer.
Ann Curry and Anne Hathaway this AM. #mattlauer #TodayShow pic.twitter.com/SW26wEpVY1
— Caroline Landree (@carolinelandree) November 29, 2017
"Ann Curry and Anne Hathaway this AM," another added, with a GIF of Stephen Colbert eating popcorn. Journalist Ann Curry reportedly didn't get along with Lauer when they co-hosted the Today show, and left in 2012.
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Refinery29 has reached out to both Anne Hathaway and Matt Lauer for comment.
If you have experienced sexual violence of any kind, please visit Rape Crisis or call 0808 802 9999.
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