14 DAY TRIAL // This week saw Kathie Lee Gifford of The Today as protagonist of what has been branded the most awkward moment in television in recent years, when she asked Martin Short about his wife, who had passed away. Luckily for her, Mr. Short is a gentleman all the way.
Video of the entire thing is below and, even though the whole thing could have easily been avoided with some research, the actor still handled it admirably.
For some context: Kathie Lee asked him how his wonderful wife was doing, how long they'd been married and how come they were still happy together.
Unfortunately, Short's wife passed away almost 2 years ago from ovarian cancer.
Asked by E! Online to comment on the mishap on live TV, the actor excused Kathie Lee by saying this kind of mistakes can happen to the best in the business.
“On live television, people make mistakes. There's no ill will intended. It's nice to aspire to be kind of elegant,” the actor said.
Indeed, he was very elegant in not telling Kathie Lee during the interview that his wife was no longer with them and thus publicly shame her.
However, voices online are saying, she might be doing a wonderful job at that all by herself.
As if her TV gaffe hadn't been enough, she took to her Twitter to apologize once more – she'd already done so at the end of the Short interview.
“I send my sincerest apologies to @MartinShort and his family. He handled situation w/enormous grace and kindness and I'm so grateful,” Kathie Lee wrote.
The problem is, Gossip Cop points out, the @MartinShort account isn't Martin Short's account, so she just apologized to the wrong person.
To quote the same celebrity e-zine, “not a great day for Gifford's fact-checkers.”
