Hoda Kotb Admits She’s Still Friends With Matt Lauer After His Sexual Harassment Scandal and ‘Today’ Firing

She’s back! After Wendy Williams returned to her talk show after a long hiatus on Monday, March 4, she’s been doing a series of interviews that have made her show even more interesting. On Tuesday, March 12, she interviewed Hoda Kotb about her life on the Today show and her relationship with NBC’s former star Matt Lauer.

“Are you still his friend?” Wendy, 54, asked Hoda, also 54, about the disgraced TV anchor. “Yes,” she replied after taking in a breath. Matt was previously fired from NBC in November 2017 after news broke that he reportedly sexually harassed a colleague. And once Matt exited the show, it was up to Hoda to keep up the ratings. 

“Were you nervous that you couldn’t fill that Matt seat as well as he was doing before everything went down?” Wendy asked, and Hoda admitted, “Yeah I was.” In fact, Hoda said she and some of her other Today colleagues still check up on Matt to make sure he’s OK. 

“We keep in touch with him. I mean, look, this is one of those complex situations,” Hoda recently told The Hollywood Reporter. “I’ve known him since I started working at NBC. When I was sick with breast cancer, he was the first to call. He helps and helped in ways that … you know, he was incredible in that way. There is that Matt and then there’s the Matt that the accusers speak of.”

Hoda’s cohost Savannah Guthrie was also torn up about the allegations. “We had a really great and close relationship with Matt. He was our friend and colleague,” Savannah previously told USA Today. After Matt left, the Today show went through a lot of staffing changes but it’s still one of the most beloved morning programs Americans love watching today!