Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb Allegedly No Longer Speaking To Matt Lauer After Sexual Misconduct Scandal
Matt Lauer’s former Today Show co-anchors are allegedly no longer speaking to their former co-worker following his sexual misconduct scandal, which hit the headlines last month. According to reports, Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie have now decided not to make contact with Matt despite formally being close with him both on and off-set.
Sources are claiming that Hoda and Savannah have made the decision to longer initiate conversation with Lauer following his firing in November due to the nature of the allegations made against him.
“Going forward, they are no longer initiating communication,” a source told Life & Style of Savannah and Hoda, who have been co-hosting the early morning hour portion of Today together in Matt’s absence for the past few weeks, per Hollywood Life. “It’s just tricky. They have fond feelings toward Matt, but they now know [about his inappropriate behavior]. As women, that’s hard to reconcile.”
The magazine’s insider then went on to claim that the duo and the rest of their co-workers at Today have supposedly been feeling a little more at ease since Lauer was sensationally fired by NBC News after being accused of inappropriate behavior in the workplace. “The atmosphere on set without Matt is a lot lighter,” the source said.
The magazine’s report also stated this week that “people feel like they can breathe” now the anchor is gone and that the set has a “friendlier feeling” over the past few weeks. “No one is walking on eggshells.”
Savannah and Hoda have stayed pretty quiet about current status of their relationship with Matt ever since the twosome confirmed the news that he’d been fired by NBC News on Today back in November, though the insider said this week that his firing has actually allowed them to grow much closer as friends.
Allegedly, “Matt’s downfall has forged a deeper friendship between the two” per the Today source, who claimed that Hoda and Savannah have “actually bonded over Matt’s betrayal and departure” while they’ve been taking over his responsibilities on the morning show together as NBC searches for a suitable replacement.
“Savannah and Hoda are better friends because of it,” continued the source of how the anchors are supposedly now closer than ever before, noting that ratings have also bettered in the wake of Matt’s firing.
“Their show is doing better than it was before. Privately, they’re proud of the success,” they continued.
Hoda is still temporarily in Matt’s seat on the NBC morning show in the wake of Lauer’s departure as the network is still yet to announce who will be permanently taking over from the disgraced anchor.
WATCH: “The processing is going to take a lot of time…” @hodakotb and @KathieLGifford on Matt Lauer’s termination from NBC News. pic.twitter.com/Qy1lnu1mYH
— TODAY with Hoda & Jenna (@HodaAndJenna) November 29, 2017
But while neither Guthrie nor Kotb have spoken publicly about whether or not they’re still in contact with their former co-worker amid the scandal, Hoda said last month during her Today segment with Kathie Lee Gifford that she needed some time to process the pretty shocking news about her friend.
“You’ve loved someone so much and then you hear something and you go, wait, ‘what’?” the star said while discussing her friend being fired on November 29 as Kathie Lee revealed that she’d sent a text to Lauer after the news broke. “It does take time and you can’t figure it out overnight.”
It was also rumored earlier this month that Kotb would “love” to be announced as Lauer’s permanent replacement on Today, though NBC News haven’t commented on the rumors.
