Jim Bell, an executive producer at Today, wants you to know that "it was absolutely" his "call" to fire Ann Curry, throwing himself in front of the criticism Matt Lauer was getting from Curry fans. Even though Today's ratings have been sagging—they're actually worse off post-Curry—and the show ended its 16-year domination over rival Good Morning America, nothing too terrible has happened—the show hasn't ended, the cheeriness is still there, Kathie Lee is still drinking before noon—and now Bell has come forward to claim responsibility for the call. "It was definitely not Matt’s call," Bell told The Times's Bill Carter in an interview today. "He is the host and does not have management responsibility. It was not his call. That was my call," Bell said. He adds in The Hollywood Reporter, "We have the right team in place now, we love our show. We’re just trying to move forward here." So, yes Savannah Guthrie can probably breathe a little easier now that it's on the record that Lauer doesn't actually make the show's employment decisions ... but he's still allowed to complain right? 

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Alexander Abad-Santos