For Halloween, Matt Lauer dressed as Pamela Anderson . This morning, conversely, The Today Show host went from pretending to be a woman to extolling the virtues of something very important for men: Regular prostate exams. In order to raise awareness of prostate cancer and how simple it can be to check for, Lauer and Al Roker actually underwent a digital test on air. No, the very personal aspects of this examination were not filmed. But a physician was featured speaking to the reporters after each went behind a closed door for his quick test and important information was passed along. Watch now: Matt Lauer and Al Roker Undergo Prostate Exams As entertaining as it is when Roker films a selfie at a Drake concert, this segment was especially helpful and, hopefully, educational to many. Well done, Today.
Think your Halloween costume is racy, Miley Cyrus? You have been put to shame by… Ellen DeGeneres?!? Sort of. With Miley baring a breast and channeling Lil Kim for this year’s holiday, Ellen has gone ahead and made like Nicki Minaj. On the taped episode of her talk show that airs today, DeGeneres wears the same risque outfit as Minaj donned during an appearance on Ellen last month, the bottom of her giants breasts exposed to the world. Her phony giant breasts, that is, when it comes to Ellen: Watch the following video now for more from Ellen’s Halloween special and compare this attire to the two most controversial: Julianne Hough in blackface . Ireland Baldwin as a Native American . Ellen DeGeneres on Halloween
Dear Today Show and Matt Lauer – We know your ratings need a boost. And we know your reputation is in the drain and viewers need to see you as a fun-loving host, not someone who demeans your staffers . But still. No. Just… no. On The Today Show’s Halloween spectacular this morning, Al Roker dressed as Mr. T and Kathie Lee Gifford was Wilma from The Flintstones. But the classic costumes were all a lead-up to Lauer coming out as Pamela Anderson from Baywatch. We wish we were making this up. And we really wish we could un-see this: Anderson, meanwhile, doesn’t even look like this anymore, having just gotten a new pixie cut . And forget Julianne Hough in blackface . This is FAR more offensive. Matt Lauer as Pamela Anderson
Matt Lauer is not a popular man around The Today Show set these days. That’s been the case for a long time, of course, but Radar Online claims Lauer is especially under fire right now because nine employees were recently canned – and the anchor’s alleged refusal to take a pay cut is being blamed for their pink slips. “It has really irked the staff because Matt is the highest paid journalist in the business, and he only works four days a week!” the insider says. “If he had agreed to a one percent pay cut, those jobs could have been saved.” Lauer earns $25 million per year, but rumors continue to persist that Today may fire its lead anchor. For the first time in nearly two decades, Good Morning America beat Today in the May sweeps this spring. Jay Leno, meanwhile, indirectly hurt Lauer’s reputation last year when he sliced his own salary in half in order to avoid any staff firings. “It would never cross Matt’s mind to voluntarily take a pay cut like Jay Leno did,” this source adds. “What Jay did was total class, and he took responsibility for the situation. Matt has been calling the shots at Today for a very long time, and he could learn a lot from Jay.” Earlier this summer, it came out that Lauer is demeaning and dismissive of Today staffers. It just really isn’t his year!
A new pro-Israel ad has sparked controversy, not for its subject matter but for the fact that Bar Rafaeli, the nation’s hottest export, takes part in it. The Israeli supermodel’s latest public relations campaign sponsored her native country’s Foreign Ministry did not sit well with the Israel Defense Forces. The reason? Refaeli’s evasion of the compulsory military draft, which has become a standard coming-of-age experience for 18-year-old Israelis. Israel’s Channel 2 News first reported the contents of a letter sent by spokesman Big. Gen. Yoav Mordechai to the Foreign Ministry Director. The IDF called out “the choice of a representative who did not serve in the military as an official presenter on behalf of Israel” and for forgiving Bar. Mordechai writes that the IDF has worked for years to “strengthen the value of IDF service, and to fight the phenomenon of enlistment evasion.” According to Israeli law, men are required to serve three years while women are required to serve two. Refaeli, however, found a construction loophole. By marrying a family friend in 2007, she could continue her already-successful modeling career, which needless to say became even more successful indeed. This hasn’t sat so well with many Israelis. Nor is it the first time that Bar Rafaeli ‘s military service has become a point of contention in her homeland. When the blonde bombshell landed a lucrative campaign with Fox in 2008, a boycott was threatened, demanding that Refaeli complete her military service. Critics were assuaged when the fashion company promised that the model would visit hospitalized IDF soldiers and encourage enlistment. Then in 2010, Maj. Gen. Avi Zamir spoke out against the model during a speech at IDC when asked about Refaeli’s lack of prominence in the country’s PR activities. Of course, rather than boost Israel’s profile, the 27-year-old’s appearance in the new campaign has only revisited the controversy over her “draft-dodging.” Refaeli acknowledged the controversy on Instagram, stating: “You can use the clip for the Foreign Ministry or drop it, but my Instagram feed has more readers than Israel’s most popular newspaper [Yedioth Ahronoth]!” Guess someone isn’t feeling too guilty.
A new cover story in New York magazine seeks to expose the mess that has led The Today Show to its lowest ratings in year. And while author Joe Hagan reports that Matt Lauer nearly left for ABC last year, the most explosive passages document that anchor contentious relationship with Ann Curry. “Everybody at NBC, everybody at the Today show, everybody understood that Ann was kicked out of her position because Matt didn’t want her there,” an important NBC staffer told Hagan for the story. “That’s why it was so personal between Ann and Matt.” In an especially sloppy handling, Curry was let go from the program last year – and this isn’t the first time Lauer has been blamed for the firing. Don Nash, a current Today producer, doesn’t try to pretend that there was chemistry behind the former colleagues. “You can’t fake it for very long that early in the morning,” Nash told Hagan. “I think viewers have a sixth sense about all that. If your two anchors don’t like each other off the air, they’re not going to be fooled if they love each other on the air.” Hagan adds that Curry and Lauer “barely spoke” when the cameras weren’t rolling and that Lauer grew more and more “disgruntled” as time went on. “He made it clear to friends that he was miserable with Curry and uncomfortable with his corporate masters at Comcast.” The situation was finally resolved with Curry’s ousting in June 2012, a transition Lauer now admits was not handled well. Pick up the latest issue of New York for a lot more insight into the ugly situation at NBC.
Matt Lauer Fired ! According to a new report, the odds of seeing that headline are increasing by the day. Sources tell Radar Online that new Today Show producer Alexandra Wallace has made it very clear: Lauer will be a goner if program ratings do not improve. “ The Today Show has always been considered a cash cow for the network,” says this insider. “It dominated the morning news ratings for years and brought in millions of dollars in ad revenue. “But if viewers continue preferring Good Morning America over The Today Show that revenue will decrease and cuts will have to be made.” And if this major move is made? “The replacement is likely to be Willie Geist,” adds the source. “He has been wildly popular with viewers and the crew since he was named co-host of the third hour of the show.” Last Wednesday, Today lost to GMA by 1.3 million viewers, the largest gap in 10 years. NBC News President Steve Capus has defended Lauer against blame for the ratings decline, making it interesting to see what happens if it really does continue. What do you think? Should Lauer be fired? Yes No Maybe View Poll »
Efron tells ‘Today’ show that he now has a ‘pocket-checking policy.’ By John Mitchell Zac Efron on the “Today” show Photo: NBC/ Getty At last week’s “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax” premiere, the movie’s star Zac Efron caused quite a stir when he pulled his hands out of his pants pockets and accidentally dropped a condom on the red carpet. Unfortunately for the handsome star, just a few days later, he was scheduled to hit the talk-show circuit to promote the animated flick, which in these gossipy times meant fielding questions about the embarrassing snafu. His first stop was “Today,” where a blushing Matt Lauer asked Efron about the condom drop and, well, the journalist seemed to be having a harder time talking about the incident than the movie star. “Your name brings a lot of attention to this role and this movie, and there’s something else that brought a lot of attention to this movie recently, Zac, at the premiere,” Lauer said with a smile. “Yeah,” Efron answered reluctantly, knowing where the conversation was headed. Lauer then asked the “High School Musical” breakout to “take me through it.” Efron didn’t exactly want to do that, but he did assure the anchor that he “never really had a pocket-checking policy when I was going on the red carpet before, but now we’ve fully instated one.” “You dropped a … a condom on the red carpet,” Lauer elaborated, just to make sure everyone was on the same page, though he was clearly uncomfortable. “That was really hard for you to say,” the 24-year-old star observed. Clearly embarrassed by the conversation but maintaining his cool, Efron agreed with Lauer that the “better to be safe than sorry” message he was sending was “a great message to add to the many messages of the film.” That’s when things took a turn for the super -awkward. Lauer tried to move straight into a conversation about Efron’s production company. “You’ve got your own production company,” Lauer started before laughing. “And that’s a bad pun, by the way: your own production company.” Get it? His own production company. Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘The Lorax’
