Kathie Lee Gifford still maintains a close friendship with Matt Lauer: "The Matt I love is the Matt I still do"

People

The departing Today show host, who has repeatedly stuck up for her disgraced former colleague, says: “I was texting him last week and praying for him this morning. That’s what a friendship means to me. I’ve been through very, very hard times in my life and I saw my friends drop away because they weren’t my friends. Times like that test the mettle of friendships. The Matt I love is the Matt I still do.”