Hoda Kotb says she’s ‘not making Matt Lauer money’
Hoda Kotb may have just landed Matt Lauer’s old job, but she didn’t land his hefty paycheck.
“I’m not making Matt Lauer money. Not even close,” the journalist told People. “The answer is no — that’s not happening.”
Few people are. Before he was fired in November amid sexual harassment claims, the “Today” anchor was raking in a reported $20 million a year.
Savannah Guthrie, who has co-hosted “Today” since 2011, also chimed in that she was a ways off from Lauer’s chunk of change as well.
Still, Kotb, who officially scored the hosting gig alongside Guthrie on Tuesday, said she isn’t paying any mind to money matters.
“I know it sounds ridiculous that I’m going to say this, but I really have done jobs I liked for the job I liked because I never wanted to be happy every other Friday on payday. Like, I didn’t want that to be the happy day. I wanted to feel good throughout,” she explained.
Kotb has filled in for Lauer since his ousting, and will continue to host her “Kathie Lee & Hoda” segment despite her new responsibilities as co-anchor.
And though she’s taken over his “Today” show chair, Kotb says she and Lauer still talk, and that he texted her congratulations upon learning of her big promotion.
“It meant the world when I saw the text pop up. My heart just went like, you know, it meant the world to see that,” she told “Entertainment Tonight.”
Lauer will not be paid past his last day of work, CNNMoney reports, despite the fact that he was reportedly working with a lawyer to negotiate a $30 million payout.