Savannah Guthrie recently opened up about an uncomfortable experience from 2012, recalling a moment when she was urged by producers to pose a highly sensitive and controversial question to Khloé Kardashian. During an interview that year, Guthrie was pressured to ask whether O.J. Simpson was, in fact, Khloé’s biological father—something she now looks back on with considerable embarrassment. She described the incident as a particularly awkward chapter in her career, admitting that the nature of the question made her feel uneasy and regretful even at the time.

Savannah Guthrie opened up on one of the most embarrassing moments of her career(Image: WWD via Getty Images)
Today’s host Savannah Guthrie has recalled an embarrassing question she asked Khloé Kardashian more than 10 years ago.

The 53-year-old journalist was asked about her most uncomfortable moment on air during a chat with Andy Cohen on his Sirius XFM radio show – and she revealed it was when she had to ask Khloé about rumors that her father wasn’t Robert Kardashian, who died aged 59 in 2003. Savannah, who interviewed Khloé during her first year on the job, said producers insisted she ask whether OJ Simpson was the reality TV star’s real father.

She shared, “I have a really embarrassing one. So Khloé Kardashian was on, this was really early on [her time on the Today show’] I think,” as Andy interrupted to say, “She’s my favourite Kardashian.”

Savannah replied, “She’s a doll,” before continuing, “She was on, there had been these stories circulating in the press that her father Robert Kardashian wasn’t really her father. Who knows. I can’t even remember the details but, I know the producers at the time, none of whom are here today, really wanted me to ask and I was very embarrassed to ask such a question.”

Savannah interviewing Khloé on the Today show(Image: NBC Newswire/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
The rumors were that US football star OJ Simpson, who was famously acquitted of the murders of his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman in 1994, was Khloé’s biological father. Robert Kardashian, who was married to Khloé’s mum Kris Jenner at the time, was part of Simpson’s defence team for the court case, which was later dubbed the “trial of the century.”

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At the time, Khloé, 40, was on the show to promote her new reality series, Khloé & Lamar, featuring herself and her then-husband Lamar Odom, 45, which ran for two seasons from 2011 to 2012. But NBC host Savannah said she reluctantly followed orders and “did what any naive green anchor would do, which is leave it to last.”

She explained, “At the Today show, we have a thing called the ‘hard out’ – and the ‘hard out’ means you have to be done. The show is going to black at such and such time.” So to try and avoid having to ask the awkward question, she left it to the last 10 seconds to do the deed.

Khloé Kardashian denied the rumors(Image: Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

OJ Simpson, pictured with his wife Nicole Brown Simpson, also said the rumors were false(Image: Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Recalling the cringeworthy moment, Savannah told listeners, “I said Khloé, just real quickly, in the seconds we have, there have been some stories that Robert Kardashian is not your father. Is he?” And to her relief, Khloé was nice about it and in Savannah’s words “saved my b–t”. Khloé replied, “Yep, I know. Nothing to it.”

Simpson, who also denied rumors he was the Kardashians star’s father, died in 2024. When rumors began circulating again in 2017, Khloé hit out at those spreading the false claims as she wrote on X, formerly called Twitter, “People are a—holes but I don’t care lol I focus on the good.”

Back in 2022, Simpson appeared on the Full Send podcast where he was also asked about the rumors, and said, “The rumor ain’t true. It’s not even anywhere close to being true.”