The former daytime diva, who is now 70 years old, said that she received an intriguing phone call from the shock jock, who is also 70 years old, expressing regret for their decades-long dispute.
She started out by saying, “It was a surprise to get a voicemail from Howard Stern,” which was a reference to the power of forgiveness. “As soon as I finished listening to it, I told my children who were sitting at the table, ‘Well, pigs have now officially flown.’ My faith in God’s ability to move people’s hearts has never wavered. When someone hates me, I am not permitted to dislike that person. If you begin to pray for other people, you will no longer be able to despise them. Love cannot exist in the same space as hatred, and this is a really straightforward concept.
In 1995, Stern invited his audience to jeer at Gifford as she was performing the national anthem at Super Bowl XXIX. This was the beginning of the public conflict between the A-list celebrities. A former employee of Today said in her book, “I Want to Matter: Your Life Is Too Short and Too Precious to Waste,” that she had a “completely surreal” experience when she was heckled by individuals as she was singing the patriotic song.
Several years later, the Annie star approached the radio host during one of his appearances on the NBC morning series. At the time, he was promoting a new project, and he was there to promote it. “The Lord… said, ‘Kathie, go down and say hello to him, and wish him well with the show,’” Gifford recalls telling me.
“And I, Lord, said, ‘All right.'” I went out of the room where I was doing my hair and cosmetics. It had been sent to those young ladies, “Do not permit Kathie to come anywhere near the studio.” I couldn’t care less about it. I make my way downstairs. Their question is, “Where are you going?” She went on to add that she had remarked, “I’m going to go say hello to Howard.”
The television personality proceeded by saying, “He is extremely tall, and I was in my little flats coming in from Connecticut.” This was in reference to the incident. “He has quite the entourage, which is why there were so many people there on that particular day. “Hey, it’s Kathie Lee,” I said to her. It seemed to me that the moment had come. I wished you the best of luck with the new program, and I asked for your best wishes. After getting up, I walked back to the makeup area and sat down there. It was stated to them, “Why would you do that?” I responded by saying, “God told me to.”
Immediately after the short encounter, Gifford became aware that she had failed to pick up a call from an unknown caller, who turned out to be Stern. “He left a voicemail, and he says…I can’t even use the language that he used,” Gifford said to reporters. According to what he was saying, “I can’t believe how nice you were to me,” despite the fact that he used a lot of F words. You have been so kind to me, and I have been so impolite to you. An apology is all that I need to make to you. Kindly give me a call.'”
Upon Gifford’s return of the call, she made it clear that she had something to say to him. “I said, ‘I’m really happy for you that you’re asking for forgiveness, because anytime we hurt somebody in life, it’s important to ask for forgiveness,’” she said in response. On the other hand, I would want you to know that I have forgiven you thirty years ago. He asks, “What is it?” I told her, “I have forgiven you thirty years ago, and ever since then, I have been praying for you every single day.” It is the truth, after all. Then he exclaims, “Oh my God.” When I said, “Would you be interested in coming to dinner at some point?” In response, he asks, “You would have me at your house?” My response was, “Of course.”
