Kathie Lee Gifford thinks Matt Lauer should get a second chance: 'I believe in redemption'

Kathie Lee Gifford is still friends with Matt Lauer over a year after he was fired from the "Today" show amid allegations of sexual misconduct in the workplace.

The television veteran told People this week that she's still in contact with him and believes that he should be given another chance after paying for his "mistakes."

"I was texting him last week and praying for him this morning. That's what friendship means to me," she told the outlet. "I've been through very, very hard times in my life, and I saw my friends drop away because they weren't my friends. Times like that test the mettle of friendships. The Matt I love is the Matt I still do."

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"He made mistakes and he paid dearly for them," Gifford went on. "I believe in redemption because Jesus did. And it's not for me to judge any choices he made. That's between him, his wife and his God. My job is to be his friend and be there for him. He's found out who his real friends are."

Since being let go from NBC News in November 2017, Lauer has been laying low in the Hamptons with his family as he continues to negotiate the final stages of his reported $20 million divorce from his wife of two decades, Annette Roque.

Lauer's sudden exit from "Today" came as Gifford was preparing to leave the NBC morning show that following spring. But, after producers asked her to stay amid the troubling time, Gifford opted to remain in her position co-hosting the 10 a.m. hour for an extra year.

"It was a really calculated decision two years ago when I first gave my notice to my bosses here at NBC and said, ‘you guys I have to go. It’s time," she recalled. "The executive producer came to me and said, ‘Kathie, because of what had happened with our friend Matt, would you mind staying? Reconsider, stay.' And so I said, ‘you know what? Yes, of course I will. I want to help you guys.'"

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"We’d had a lot of turmoil here," Gifford added. "I wanted the transition to be smooth and I wanted to show the business how you can do it. I didn’t leave anybody in the lurch."

Gifford will leave "Today" in April, with Jenna Bush Hager officially replacing her alongside Hoda Kotb in the show's fourth hour. She says she'll focus on writing and producing Christian films, which has been a dream of hers for quite some time.