On Wednesday, Richard Gere followed in the footsteps of Cher by flustering an unsuspecting Today Show host during a live interview. To the surprise of viewers and host Savannah Guthrie, Gere kicked off his Nov. 20 visit to the morning show by flipping Guthrie off. Immediately, the astonished news anchor attempted to hide the gesture behind a stack of papers.
"What did you just do?" Guthrie exclaimed. "You just did an obscene gesture on this family morning show!"
Gere seemed to realize his mistake and promptly apologized, lowering his hand before jokingly moving his arm around while Guthrie continued her blocking attempts. "I'm bleeping you!" she said.
She then pointed out that Gere is not the first star to warrant a Today Show bleep this week.
"You know, Cher was on here doing an F-bomb yesterday so I don't know what's happening," Guthrie joked. As for why Gere raised his middle finger in the first place, the actor was quick to offer an explanation.
Gere simply wanted to make sure viewers got the full picture when it came to a clip of his upcoming espionage thriller, The Agency. Today had just shown a snippet of the series but cut off the scene right before Gere's character made the gesture.
"You didn't show but that's what I did in the piece," Gere explained. "That's what the clip was!"
Guthrie replied, "That's what the clip was but we cut that part out."
"I could see that but it didn't make any sense without that," Gere defended with a laugh. He later joked, "My hand did that, I didn't do it! I have no control!"
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The day prior, Cher accidentally dropped an uncensored F-bomb while recounting the advice she received from comedian Lucille Ball, while the singer was in the midst of her troubled marriage to ex Sonny Bono.
"What did she tell you to do?" asked host Hoda Kotb
"I can't say it on TV," Cher replied, to which Kotb assured her, "We'll bleep it."
Unfortunately, the broadcast wasn't quick enough to censor the cuss word live on-air, so when Cher delivered the anecdote, it came through the airwaves, profanity and all.
"I said, 'Lucy I'm calling you because to my knowledge there's never been a situation besides mine except yours,'" Cher recalled, referencing Ball's highly-publicized split from husband and business partner Desi Arnaz. "She said, 'F--- him. You're the one with the talent.'"
Kotb was flustered by the F-bomb but laughed it off. "I should've bleeped it myself," she joked. "Bleep."
Halfway through the week, there's still plenty of time left for yet another star to shock the Today anchors. In the meantime, watch Guthrie's priceless reaction to Gere's gesture in the clip above.
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