“Today” show hosts Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie have revealed that the two prayed before going on the air on Nov. 29 and revealing to the world that former colleague Matt Lauer had been terminated over claims of “inappropriate sexual behavior.”
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Guthrie, 46, told People that Kotb — who is officially replacing Lauer — visited her dressing room and the two invoked God before going on set to deliver the now-infamous segment.
Kotb, 53, also reflected on that moment and said it’s something she won’t forget.
“I won’t forget it. I said to Savannah after that prayer, ‘We’re gonna make it through this together,'” Kotb told People. “We just sort of sat there and I was sort of on autopilot, I don’t really remember a lot of it, but I do remember just sort of holding onto Savannah and saying it just wasn’t in our hands anymore, it was in God’s hands.”
Matt Lauer, known to millions of TV viewers as the amiable host of "Today" show, was fired by NBC News today over sexual misconduct allegations. @biannagolodryga reporting. pic.twitter.com/eAojwsAOg6
— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 29, 2017
Guthrie said that the on-air announcement during which both hosts looked bewildered and shocked by Lauer’s firing showed that their “hearts were broken” and added that, “in lots of ways, they still are.”
She also said that the Lauer scenario has impacted everyone at the show.
“That feeling was shared through our whole newsroom and our whole ‘Today’ show staff, because it sounds like cliché or a promo line, but it happens to be true: We are family, and we do love each other, and families do go through hard times, and when that happens in good families, you just get closer,” she said. “You pull together and you focus on the foundation and what keeps you together. I think that’s what we’ve all been trying to do.”
Guthrie said that she is working to get comfortable with the feelings and dynamics that have been unfolding and to have “love and compassion for everyone concerned.”
The honest discussion from Kotb and Guthrie about what has been unfolding since Lauer’s firing as well as their explanation of the prayer comes after another faith moment unfolded the same day that Kotb and Guthrie made their own on-air announcement.
As Faithwire previously reported, Kathie Lee Gifford, who hosts an hour of “Today” alongside Kotb, boldly explained to viewers how “only God can heal” and that all of us are broken. She replayed the clip of Guthrie asking a question on reconciliation during the Lauer announcement.
And after taking a deep breath, and momentary hesitation, she began to explain God’s message of forgiveness. It’s truly a remarkable bit of television. Watch it below: