Katie Couric Reveals Alleged Texts Sent to Matt Lauer After His Sexual Misconduct Firing

Katie Couric said she initially felt sympathetic towards her former "Today" co-anchor Matt Lauer after he was fired from the show for sexual misconduct.

In excerpts from her new upcoming book "Going There" -- per a manuscript seen by Daily Mail -- Couric revealed the supportive texts she said she sent to Lauer following the 2017 scandal.

"I am crushed," she claimed she texted him. "I love you and care about you deeply. I am here. Please let me know if you want to talk. There will be better days ahead."

Couric wrote that Lauer replied with a blowing kiss emoji.

In November 2017, Lauer was fired from "Today" after a female colleague made a detailed complaint accusing him of inappropriate sexual behavior. Multiple women came forward with sexual misconduct allegations against Lauer following his dismissal.

Despite learning of the "awful things" Lauer had been accused of, Couric wrote that she worried he was "sleepless, haggard, depressed, maybe worse." Calling him a "decent man," she said she felt "heartless to abandon him, someone who'd been by my side, literally, for so many years."

Couric said she eventually realized Lauer could be an "excellent professional partner, a good friend, and a predator."

The scandal may not have been a total shock to the journalist, however, as she claimed she had "heard the whispers" about Lauer's alleged inappropriate behavior while she was his "Today" co-anchor.

She recalled hearing a rumor about his wife at the time calling up the control room to demand the phone number of a TV anchor she believed was sleeping with her husband.

In another example, Couric said an unnamed female producer confided in her about an alleged email Lauer sent asking her to "butter him up" using her thighs and requesting she wear a "skirt that came off easily" to his office.

Couric also wrote that she thought the rumors of Lauer's behavior were "gross," but she didn't address them because "the general rule at the time was, 'It's none of your business.'"

"A don't-ask-don't-tell culture where anything goes, and everything did," she added.

TooFab has reached out to Lauer's reps for comment.

Lauer wasn't the only celebrity in Couric's line of fire, as she also took aim at Deborah Norville, Prince Harry, and Martha Stewart in her new book, according to reports. And she appeared to go after Diane Sawyer hard, claiming their morning show rivalry got so out of control, Couric once proclaimed, "This woman must be stopped!"

"I loved that I was getting under Diane's skin," she added.

Couric even called out Sawyer's famous interview with Whitney Houston, saying, "There was a very fine line between a revealing interview and the exploitation of troubled, often traumatized people in service of tawdry tidbits and sensational sound bites (e.g., Diane bearing down on an agitated Whitney Houston about eating disorders and drug use, which yielded the memorable comeback 'crack is whack')."

TooFab has also reached out to Sawyer's reps for comment.