Katie Lee Gifford spoke candidly in support of Matt Lauer after he was fired from NBC amid allegations of sexual misconduct.
While cohosting Today’s 10.am. hour with Hoda Kotb, Gifford, 64, opened up about her late husband Frank Gifford’s affair and how undergoing that experience had shaped her perspective. “I don’t feel that Matt has betrayed us in any way at all, but when I found out that my husband had betrayed me, you question your own judgement,” she said. “You say, ‘Was everything a lie?’ And I think we have to fight against that, very much fight against that. That the man we know and adored was the man we loved and adored and continue to. I texted [Lauer] this morning and I said, ‘I adore you.’”
As previously reported, Savannah Guthrie and Kotb, 53, revealed on the Today show on Wednesday, November 29, that Lauer, 59, had been let go from the network. The veteran journalists explained that NBC News chairman Andrew Lack sent an email to the staff just moments before the women went on the air detailing the reasoning behind Lauer’s firing. The email read that the network had “received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace by [Lauer].”
Gifford relayed the importance of forgiveness as she continued to make sense of her colleague’s firing. “No person is perfect in this world. Nobody is. We’ve all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, is what scripture says,” she continued. “And what we need now is forgiveness and we need mercy for one another. We don’t need taunts and we don’t need ugliness. We have enough of that in the world.”
The author then expressed her support for Lauer’s accuser. “I send out my love right now to the person, whoever that is, that came forward. May God heal that person,” she said. “I send it to Matt, and his children, and his wife — may God bless that family and heal … The only thing I’ve ever been sure of is that only God can heal it. And there’s no bad time to reach out for his help.”
Gifford concluded her thoughts by revealing that Lauer had helped her move forward after her husband’s infidelity, and because he supported her during that difficult time, she would now try to do the same for him. “This is a good way to think of it, too,” she began. “There was a man — a wonderful, wonderful man who has been an advisor to me and Frank throughout our lifetime — and I had my eyes just on me for along time, and I was upset and hurt, which you would normally be, like I’m sure Matt’s family is. And [Matt] said, ‘Kathie, if you can’t forgive your husband, forgive your children’s father.’ Same person. Same person, but that’s the one you love. That’s the one you believe in. We are all so broken. We need somebody to put us back together. And it’s possible, it’s so possible. I’m living proof of it. Didn’t mean to go to church, but that’s where we needed to go today.”
Although Lauer has yet to comment on the misconduct allegations that have surfaced against him, many celebrities have come forward to condemn his alleged behavior.
“Don’t let the door hit you on the way out, Matt Lauer,” Rose McGowan tweeted on Wednesday. “‘Today Show’ #ROSEARMY.”
Meanwhile, Kathy Griffin wrote, “Matt Lauer has been on my list for a while. It’s really too bad more Americans don’t come to my shows. I pretty much recite the list in very show. Haha. I told you, my memory is long, my friends. I’ve been around a long time.”
See more celebrity reactions here.
