Kathie Lee Gifford may love her hosting gig on the fourth hour of “Today” these days, but before she was on the show, she thought it was “crap.”
Gifford welcomed her “Today” co-host Hoda Kotb onto her new podcast and the two spoke about how Gifford was lured into hosting “Today”‘s 10 a.m. hour in 2008, a year after the show’s expansion.
“It was called ‘Bore Snore,’” Kotb said of the show’s pre-Gifford era.
“It was called ‘Crap,’” Gifford added.
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Kotb, Natalie Morales and former “Today” anchor Ann Curry hosted the 10 a.m. hour from 2007 until Gifford was brought on in April 2008, replacing Curry and Morales. Gifford said she was reluctant to join at first because she was “afraid of being bored.”
“We were so used to seeing people snoring,” Kotb said.
“I turned it on and it was basically a discussion of what white shirt holds up best in the wash,” Gifford said of show. “Thank goodness I don’t keep a gun handy or I would have shot myself. It was deadly, it was awful, it was boring and I told [“Today” EP] Jim Bell that.”
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Gifford and Kotb ended up having a great time together at a lunch — Kotb loved Gifford’s lack of shame while singing in public and Gifford loved Kotb’s love of her lack of shame — so Gifford told Bell to give Curry and Morales the boot and let her host with just Kotb.
“Nothing against Natalie, who I adore,” Gifford added.
She didn’t mention Curry.