Savannah Guthrie may be the epitome of professionalism in her role as an anchor on Today, but it wasn’t always smooth sailing for the bubbly blonde.
The veteran morning show host got candid about her awkward interaction with reality TV star Khloé Kardashian during her early days on the network, revealing that she still regrets her words from that day.
“Khloé was on, and there had been these stories circulating in the press that her father, Robert Kardashian, wasn’t really her father,” Savannah told Andy Cohen on a SiriusXM Town Hall alongside co-anchor Craig Melvin.
“I can’t even remember the details, but I know the producers at the time, none of whom are here today, really wanted me to ask and I was very embarrassed to ask such a question. And so I did what any naive, green anchor would do, which is leave it to the last,” she continued.
“Well, at the Today show, we have a thing called the ‘hard out’,” the 53-year-old explained. “And the hard out means you have to be done, the show is going to black at such and such time.”
“I said, ‘Khloé, and just real quickly, in the seconds we have, there’ve been some stories that Robert Kardashian is not your father. Is he?‘”
© NBC Newswire/NBCUniversal via GeSavannah recalled how professional the Good American founder was in the moment. “I don’t know if she’s such a pro that she saw them counting down like ‘three, two…‘ And she said, ‘Yep, I know. Nothing to it.‘ And I was like, ‘And we’ll be right back.’“
“She saved my butt,” she gushed. “She’s a doll.”
The 40-year-old has been dogged by rumors of her true paternity her entire life, as people pointed to her lack of resemblance to her siblings.
© Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty IHer mother, Kris Jenner, fanned these flames in her 2011 memoir, Kris Jenner and All Things Kardashian, where she revealed she had an affair during her marriage to Robert Sr.
Khloé has continuously denied these whispers and even refused to take a DNA test on Keeping Up With the Kardashians after her mom suggested it.
“I know all the rumors are absolutely ridiculous,” Kris said on the show. “But I know this is something she needs in order to feel complete.”
© InstagramKhloé explained that she didn’t want to taint memories of her father by taking the test. “I don’t care what they’re saying,” she added in the episode. “Seriously, my dad is Robert Kardashian. My other dad is [Caitlyn] Jenner. I don’t need someone to tell me who my family is. I have had the blessing of having two phenomenal fathers. I don’t need a DNA test to prove who my father is.”
Robert Sr., the famed lawyer of OJ Simpson, sadly passed away in 2003 after a battle with esophageal cancer.
© InstagramHis children were, of course, devastated by his loss, especially considering he had shared a close bond with each of them.
“We were all so close to my dad. My dad definitely worked all the time, but looking back at it, I never noticed that,” she said on The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2021.
“He was with us all the time, and I think just had a really good way of balancing work and taking care of his kids and being there. He was there for all of our sporting events, any plays, any of that kind of stuff.”
