Kathie Lee Gifford was so fed up with criticism of Matt Lauer that she decided to show him some love in a full-page newspaper ad — and got the whole “Today” cast and crew to sign it.
Gifford backed off publishing the open letter this week at Lauer’s request, the Daily News has learned.
Lauer’s co-star, a longtime tabloid target herself, was especially livid at reporters who used “unnamed sources” to slam Lauer and blame him for former co-host Ann Curry’s ouster last June, she told The News.
“We read the same newspapers and saw all the media reports, and it was frustrating for all of us watching it day to day and feeling a little helpless,” Gifford said. “No one seemed to be interested in the truth, and that was really frustrating for me because I have a deep sense of injustice about things. I don’t like somebody taking credit for something they had nothing to do with and I certainly don’t like somebody taking blame for something that they’re not responsible for,” she said.
So she decided to write the letter and run it in USA Today as an ad. “We all wanted to say something to Matt and nobody wanted to put him in a position that would make him uncomfortable,” Gifford said. “So unbeknownst to anyone higher up at NBC, I just started this thing.”
Over three weeks, Gifford collected hundreds of signatures from “Today” staffers for the letter, which sprawled across seven pages. Among them were Lauer’s co-host, Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker, Willie Geist and Hoda Kotb.
Each signature included the staffer’s position and how long they had worked alongside Lauer — many for more than 20 years.
Absent from the pages-thick list of supporters was Ann Curry.
Gifford presented her letter to Lauer on Monday. He was deeply touched but asked her to keep it “in the family” and not buy an ad.
“We the people of the ‘Today’ show who work side by side, day by day, year in and year out with Matt Lauer are tired of unfounded and unrelenting stories by faceless characters regarding his character and reputation,” Gifford’s letter read. “No one has coerced us to sign this. With our signatures we stand in support of our colleague and friend.”
Gifford said she wanted to give Curry a chance to sign the letter but hasn’t seen her since Curry left the show for a globe-trotting role at the network. “She’s just not part of (the show) day-in and day-out anymore. This wasn’t about Ann, this is about our love and support for a different member of our family.”
Gifford said she was shaken by the ongoing coverage blasting Lauer because “I’ve been through it.”
“I also knew what he must’ve been going through internally,” she said.
Kathie Lee and her husband, former New York Giants great Frank Gifford, were accused in 1996 of overseeing a sweat shop in Honduras that produced her line of apparel for Walmart. At the time Gifford explained on “Live with Regis and Kathie Lee” that she was not involved with the day-to-day management of the factory. “It was one of the most awful chapters of my entire life,” Gifford said. “But you get through it.”
