Kathie Lee Gifford Tells ‘Today’ Viewers To “Back Off” After She Received “Nasty Mail” For Teasing Jenna Bush Hager

Former Today host Kathie Lee Gifford doled out some tough love when she visited Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager on Wednesday (July 17) to promote her new book.

Gifford, who previously hosted the fourth hour of Today with Kotb until 2019, kept the anchors on their toes as she dished about her new book, religion and her family. Though she was happy to open up about her life to her longtime friends, she jokingly shut down their questions with a quick, “That’s none of your business.”

She continued her teasing into a later segment where she, Bush Hager, and Kotb competed to guess the names of celebrities. At one point, Bush Hager was the only one to successfully guess Megan Thee Stallion, prompting Gifford to give her a confused look and say, “Where do you learn this stuff? Are you fun at cocktail parties? I bet you aren’t.”

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Gifford’s shocking statement had Kotb and Bush Hager absolutely cracking up as they could barely keep a straight face throughout the entire game.

“Y’all, she likes me, this is her love language. I promise she likes me,” Bush Hager told viewers through her laughter.

Gifford smiled and leaned into Bush Hager for a side-hug. “I adore her. I know! I got some nasty mail last time,” she revealed. She then turned back to the camera and seemingly addressed the audience directly, saying, “I adore Jenna! Back off, Barbies.”

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That only made the Today co-hosts laugh even harder.

At the end of the game, Gifford celebrated the fact that her appearance was officially over. “I’m exhausted. Thank God I don’t have to come back here tomorrow,” she said.

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Bush Hager again defended Gifford, just in case. “She loves us, I promise,” Bush Hager added.

While she may not miss working on Today , Kotb and Bush Hager always welcome Gifford back with open arms.

During an earlier visit on the broadcast, Kotb and Bush Hager tried to convince her to lead The Golden Bachelorette, but it looks like Gifford wasn’t too interested in the show as it’s currently formatted.

“It would have to be completely different,” she told them, before playfully adding, “They’d have to make them much younger.”

Today with Hoda and Jenna airs on weekdays at 10/9c on NBC.

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