Ann Curry Leaves Today Show; NBC President Openly Criticizes her Performance

Television personality Ann Curry arrives at the Time 100 Gala in New York, April 24, 2012. (Photo : REUTERS/Lucas Jackson)

NBC President Steve Capus openly criticized Ann Curry's performance on cooking segments and celebrity interviews.

He stated that she lacked the ability to step up during light segments of the show and felt that her interest and passion was simply not in working on television.

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"We gave her a year to prove herself, and ultimately we came to the conclusion that she had played at the highest level she could," Steve Capus stated. "When you're in the major leagues of our profession, you've got to continue to be at peak performance in order to stay there."

Curry resigned publicly on the show last Thursday. During the airing, Curry broke into tears as she gave her last goodbye after over a year as the Today Show's co-host alongside Matt Lauer. Curry, 55, had taken over for Meredith Vieira.

Her replacement will be Savannah Guthrie, who will begin on July 9^th on a team that also includes Al Roker and Natalie Morales. Guthrie, 40 was present on Friday's session of the "Today" show as NBC tried to "downplay the switch," according to NY Daily News.

Curry has accepted a new multiyear deal as an international correspondent and anchor-at-large for NBC News. She is set to cover the Summer Olympics in London starting at the end of July and will also produce network specials and pieces for NBC Nightly News, Dateline, and Rock Center.  According to USA today, she will produce specials and pieces for the Today show once in a while.  

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