Richard Gere caused another wild moment on the Today show just one day after Cher dropped an F-bomb live on air.
Gere, 75, sat down with Savannah Guthrie to chat about his new TV show, The Agency, on the Wednesday, November 20, episode of Today. After airing a clip from the series, the camera flipped back to show Gere giving Guthrie, 52, the middle finger. “Oh, you didn’t show that,” he said while raising his hand.
Guthrie quickly responded by slapping down Gere’s hand with her interview notes. “Oh, sorry. But that’s what I did in the piece,” he stated, to which she replied, “You just did an obscene gesture on this family morning show. I’m bleeping you.”
Guthrie went on to refer to Cher’s moment with Hoda Kotb the day prior. “You know, Cher was on here doing a F-bomb yesterday, so I don’t know what’s happening,” she quipped.
Gere, meanwhile, defended his action by stating the show clip “didn’t make any sense” without showing his character giving the middle finger. Keeping the interview lighthearted, Guthrie got back on track by asking Gere questions about his new project.
The actor’s hand gesture was not censored during the NBC morning Wednesday morning broadcast but has since been blurred in online clips.
Kotb, 60, had a similar reaction when Cher swore while sharing advice she got from Lucille Ball about breaking up with her ex-husband Sonny Bono during their Tuesday, November 19, chat.
Referring to Ball’s famous split ex-husband Desi Arnaz, Cher stated: “I said, ‘Lucy, I’m calling you because, to my knowledge, there’s never been a [public breakup like mine] except yours. And so, she said, ‘F— him. You’re the one with the talent.’”
Kotb, who permitted Cher to share the story despite its graphic language, burst into laughter upon realizing the F-word had not been edited out of the broadcast. “We didn’t have the seven seconds, but we will get it for the next feed,” she said, to which Cher retorted: “Well, you said I could!”
Much like Guthrie, Kotb noted she “should have bleeped it myself” before continuing their conversation. Cher’s comment was later bleeped in online uploads of the interview.
Gere flipping the bird on live TV is another of his many memorable Today shows moments, as Guthrie showed him a montage of their past interviews on Wednesday. “It’s really nice seeing you,” he said to her. “I haven’t seen you in a long time, and I always really liked you. So, I’m very happy to be sitting here with you again.”
Guthrie returned his kind words by stating: “You’re so nice because I was actually thinking the same about you this morning. I was like, ‘I love Richard Gere. He’s actually one of our favorite guests around here. …’ I have fond, fond memories.”
