Kathie Lee Gifford admitted that she reached out to disgraced Hollywood figures Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby since their sexual harassment and assault cases have been bathed in the nationwide spotlight.
Gifford, cohost of "The Kathie Lee and Hoda Show," which comprised the fourth hour of NBC's "Today," said on Sirius XM's "Radio Andy" with Andy Cohen on Wednesday that she was not defending the actions both men have been accused of, but was reaching out as a friend, People magazine reported.
"I don't want to throw everybody on the same manure pile," Gifford, 64, told Cohen. "Being a jerk is not the same as being a rapist. It just isn't."
"Yes, I've been friends with Bill for a long, long time," Gifford admitted when asked if she had reached out to the disgraced comedian. "Harvey Weinstein was a friend of mine for 30 years. I called him and left a message. … I just want people to know I don't judge them. I don't like what they do, but God knows their hearts and there's hope for them."
Gifford told Cohen that she does not consider herself a "fair-weather" friend.
"You can't call yourself a friend if the first minute there’s trouble, you run," Gifford said on the radio show, per People.
The New York Daily News reported that Cosby is awaiting a retrial for three counts of aggravated sexual assault of Andrea Constand, while dozens of other women have also accused him of drugging and assaulting them.
The Daily News said Weinstein is under investigation by multiple police departments after being accused of sexual harassment and assault by more than 100 women. He lost his movie producing empire after a New York Times article quoted numerous women charging him with such incidents.
On the radio show, Gifford said she has been date raped and sexually harassed and is not excusing the alleged behavior by Weinstein and Cosby.
"I hope people are not misunderstanding this," she said on the show. "I’m not saying that that kind of behavior is in any way acceptable. It isn't, and it’s horrible, and as a woman who has experienced it, it’s awful. But can we at least look at each individual case and see it for what it is? And be merciful to people who are sorry for what they’ve done?"
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