‘Operation Bambi’ — How Matt Lauer’s Pals Plotted Against Ann Curry

Matt Lauer wasn't the only sexist creep on the "Today Show" set — as a crony producer helped the jealous host in the campaign to kick Ann Curry off the show!

Lauer was finally fired from "Today" over a series of sick sex scandals — but industry insiders had already blasted him for getting Ann fired from her job as the "Today" show's newswoman in 2012. And while Ann seemingly never worried about Lauer being a lech, she was fired after being the victim of a sick campaign of harassment.

Ann couldn't have suspected the humiliations planned for her by Lauer's close pal Jim Bell (center), who had spent years on "Today" while working his way to being the show's executive producer. An insider told the New York Post that Bell had “enabled” Lauer’s bad behavior as part of making the show "a total boys’ club."

Bell even helped out his pal by starting up "Operation Bambi" to get Ann canned! A New York Times investigation reported that Bell apparently picked the name after a reporter remarked that axing Curry would be like "killing Bambi," the beloved baby deer in the 1950s animated Disney classic.

New York Times reporter Brian Stelter — now with CNN — wrote that "Curry felt that the boys' club atmosphere behind the scenes undermined her from the start, and she told friends that her final months were professional torture."

One cruelty devised by Bell was a "blooper reel of Curry's worst on-air mistakes," said an NBC source. "Another time, according to a producer, Bell called staff members into his office to show a gaffe Ann made during a cross-talk with a local station." Bell would deny both charges, but insiders said she was rocked by other dirty tricks.

Another humiliation came when "several boxes of Curry's belongings ended up in a coat closet, as if she had already been booted off the premises." Curry's wardrobe was also ridiculed, according to insiders. "On one memorable spring morning, Curry wore a bright yellow dress that spawned snarky comparisons to the giant yellow Sesame Street character Big Bird," said the source.

A staffer told the source, "The control room [put] a picture of Big Bird next to Curry and asked co-workers to vote on 'Who wore it best?'" Studio sources added that Bell's longterm plan was to ultimately extend the contract of Lauer (seen here with Natalie Morales). Plans were already made to replace Ann with Savannah Guthrie.

Ann finally left with a payoff reportedly meant to keep her from blasting the "Today" tactics. Just hours after Curry's weepy final broadcast, Bell reportedly took his top execs to the high-end Brasserie Ruhlmann restaurant to celebrate. "One observer said he led the group in raising wine glasses to toast her departure," wrote Stelter — adding: "Operation Bambi was complete."

Ann had to wait years for her revenge on Lauer — but she quickly got the last laugh on Jim Bell. Ratings for "Today" sunk after her controversial departure, and Bell was gone from "Today" by Nov. 2012. He was replaced by Alexandra Wallace. "Matt Lauer is not happy,” reported RADAR Online. “Matt doesn’t like the fact that Alexandra is a big advocate of Ann Curry’s.”