Kathie Lee Gifford Wants ‘Forgiveness And Mercy’ For Matt Lauer As She Grapples With His Firing
Kathie Lee Gifford is “grappling” with the firing of her Today colleague, Matt Lauer. He was fired after allegations surfaced that he sexually assaulted a female staffer with NBC during the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014. The news broke when Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb made the announcement on Today Wednesday morning. Kathie Lee is having a difficult time accepting Matt’s firing and made some remarks regarding the anchor’s demise with NBC.
Entertainment Tonight recapped the fourth hour of Today when Kathie Lee Gifford weighed in on Matt Lauer’s firing. She said she was “grappling” with the news and drew comparisons between her colleague’s termination and when news broke that her husband, Frank Gifford, had cheated on her back in 1997.
Gifford then seemingly defended Lauer, but it was in the context of how she was hurt in her marriage by her husband, who died in 2015.
“I don’t feel that Matt has betrayed us,” Kathie Lee Gifford said. “When I found out my husband had betrayed me, you question your own judgment. ‘Was everything a lie?’ I think we have to fight against that.”
Kathie Lee Gifford texted Matt Lauer upon hearing about his termination on Wednesday morning. She then preached “forgiveness and mercy.”
“I texted him this morning and I said, ‘I adore you,'” she shared. “No one is perfect in this world. We need now is forgiveness and mercy for one another.”
Gifford continued about the affair her husband had and how there’s never a “bad time” to learn of betrayal. She went on that Lauer’s family must be feeling “upset and hurt” like she was when she found out her husband cheated on her.
Kathie Lee Gifford is “grappling” with Matt Lauer’s Today Show termination: “We’re broken.” https://t.co/X1O7Hpiqql pic.twitter.com/mviCeCwYY9
— EntertainmentTonight (@etnow) November 29, 2017
Kathie Lee Gifford also sends her support to the woman accusing Matt Lauer of sexual misconduct. She sent her “love to the person who came forward” and prays that God heals her, Matt, his wife, and his children. The Today co-host concluded by saying that everyone at the studio is “broken” over Lauer’s firing and that they need someone to help put them back together after the devastating news. She noted that church wasn’t something she was going to discuss, but said that “sometimes you gotta go to church.”
It may not be that easy for Matt Lauer’s accuser to forgive and have mercy if the allegations are true. Many on social media are criticizing Kathie Lee Gifford’s comments for not better defending the victim. Although she did mention the victim in her remarks, people are outraged that Gifford is showing compassion for Lauer. It’s likely to be a heated issue many will discuss for a long time. In spite of the negative headlines about Lauer over the years and the new allegations against him, he was a successful anchor on Today for 20 years who now has friends struggling to cope with the reality he was terminated.
