Matt Lauer Jokes About His Reputation: 'I Have A Lower Q Rating Than Polio'
According to the New York Post, Lauer — a longtime friend of Lack — took the stage to emcee the event by saying:
"I'm a bit surprised to be asked to host this dinner. If you’ve been following the papers lately, you know it’s been a bit rough for me. These days, I only get asked to host dinners if polio is busy. Yup, I have a lower Q rating than polio right now.”
The "Today" show host continued to take jabs at himself when introducing his former co-host Katie Couric:
“Katie has a way of making headlines. Who can forget when she was co-host of the ‘Today’ show? She got a colonoscopy on TV. Not to be outdone, two weeks ago, I got one in The New York Times."
Lauer appeared on the front page of The New York Times last month as the subject of an article by Brian Stelter, titled "At NBC, a Struggle to Revive the Morning Magic."
The Huffington Post summed the up the article: "Stelter reported that some 'Today' staffers think that the damage done to Lauer's reputation cannot be repaired, and that he will not sign another contract with the show; that his 'Q score,' widely seen as a top barometer of television popularity, has plummeted by more than 50 percent over the past two years and put him behind ABC rival George Stephanopoulos (though NBC disputes this); that NBC executives are concerned about his 'connection' to the audience; and that Curry still feels betrayed by him."
While Lauer initially tried doing damage control by talking to The Daily Beast's Howrd Kurtz in a sympathy-seeking article, we're glad he can now make light of the situation.