Matt Lauer took a special interest on ‘hiring’ Pippa Middleton for the ‘Today Show’

Pippa Middleton seen arriving at The Beating Hearts Ball

Immediately following her sister’s 2011 wedding, Pippa Middleton was in demand. She was in-demand for paparazzi, magazines wanted to profile her or hire her, and people were throwing job offers at Pippa too – she ended up taking a lucrative book deal, several gigs as a “columnist” (for Vanity Fair, among others) and of course there was now-infamous semi-offer to become an on-air correspondent for the Today Show. We knew about that years ago, that Pippa had done some kind of “screen test” for NBC but the real job offer never materialized and I don’t think Pippa was too interested anyway. Still, Today did air a taped interview between Pippa and… Matt Lauer. It was awkward as hell. It aired in 2014. Here’s one clip:

Immediately following that interview, there were many rumors that Buckingham Palace was basically trying to shut down Pippa and never allow her on camera again. The gossip was always on the royal/Middleton side of things. But we were missing the other side: the grossness of Matt Lauer. Apparently, he was all about Pippa. UGH.

Disgraced Matt Lauer set his sights on hiring Kate Middleton’s sister Pippa and pushed to get her on air, Page Six is told. The former “Today” show anchor, who is at the center of rape allegations by former producer Brooke Nevils, wanted Middleton to become a regular contributor. Lauer even shut down his favorite restaurant, Donohue’s Steak House on the Upper East Side, to host a dinner for the future queen’s sister, whose regal derrière became the unwitting star of Kate’s royal wedding to Prince William in 2011.

Pippa was accompanied by her publicist at the time, former UK newspaper editor Simon Kelner, alongside senior “Today” staffers, including former “Today” executive producer Don Nash, who thought it would be a good idea to hire her. Lauer also interviewed Pippa personally on air and arranged for her to film a test shoot at a dude ranch in Montana, which, however, turned out to be “excruciating,” according to a source.

“Pippa wasn’t comfortable with any of it. Buckingham Palace was putting her under tremendous pressure not to go forward or cause any embarrassment to her sister. Matt and Pippa were never alone, and she wasn’t really interested in the job, but nevertheless NBC staffers were nervous about Matt’s interest in Pippa.”

Fortunately, Lauer was overruled by his then-boss at NBC News, Deborah Turness, who said “no” to hiring Pippa, now a happily married mom.

[From Page Six]

I would imagine that Lauer did this with many women and many female “potential employees.” The wooing, which he probably thought was a seduction, where he tried to ingratiate himself and worm his way into a woman’s confidence and trust. If Pippa had ended up joining the Today Show, I don’t want to even imagine how Lauer would have behaved towards her. Thank goodness she avoided all that.

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44 Responses to “Matt Lauer took a special interest on ‘hiring’ Pippa Middleton for the ‘Today Show’”

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  1. Silas says:

    Pippa looks fresh faced in that first picture. She looks nice.

    For not wanting the job, she did put herself through a lot to get it. She was so wooden and awkward and I think that’s when she was asked what Kate did at Party Pieces and couldn’t answer. No wonder Buckingham Palace didn’t support this.

    I’m suprised NBC said no. They love giving jobs to relatives of famous people.

    • CommentingBunny says:

      NBC probably wanted to make sure he didn’t assault her. Not because it was wrong or to protect her, mind you, but to protect their access to the Royal Family.

      • Rhys says:

        Yeah, like NBC really cares about the treatment of women in their offices, unless it’s splashed all over the news pages! They would hire her if she was wooden, which by the way, I didn’t think she was. Nervous, but understandable for someone who has never done this kind of job before. It’s far more likely that NBC didn’t get her because they couldn’t agree on the terms – Pippa was at the top of the social ladder thanks to her sister, and didn’t need a fancy job or the headache of working hard. She is just a lucky girl, I’d say: she’s got a close-knit family, tons of money, and great connections. And she never had to work for any of it.

  2. Kittycat says:

    Ah pippa

  3. Scandi says:

    “When you walk into the room, does he (George) drool. He should, he is one” – wtf???? This man is creepy AF.

  4. TheOriginalMia says:

    Not surprising. Thankfully she didn’t get the job nor have to suffer Lauer’s special attention.

  5. Pineapple says:

    Totally off topic … how on earth do these two human ladies stay SO SLIM! My gosh, I don’t think I was that tiny when I was 14 years old. Well, maybe 14 years old. Pippa and Kate, smallest waists in the land.

    • L84Tea says:

      A lot of it is simply good genes. Carole is slim with very attractive legs too.

    • Millenial says:

      It’s not genes, early pictures of Kate from the dating years showed her at a more athletic weight. I would have to guess around 8-10 pounds heavier.

      The real answer is a very strict diet and exercise routine.

      • Evil Owl says:

        Dieting & exercise will only take you so far once you hit your thirties and metabolism starts to slow down. The women in my family are big busted with large bottoms. I was a slightly chubby teen but managed to keep off the weight all through my 20s by avoiding carbs, running 10kms several times a week and doing moderate weights . The same regimen seems far less effective now in my thirties and I am accepting my new shape as the pounds pile up. My girlfriends who are naturally slim don’t see this as a struggle, so I attribute it to genetics as their mums are pretty much the same weight they have been since we were schoolgirls. I’d agree with L84Tea that genetics play a bigger role than we think.

      • L84Tea says:

        Genes also play a factor in it is all I am saying. I know that strict dieting and exercise is involved too, but is also helps that those Middleton women just naturally have nice shapes.

        I for example, got lucky in the skin department–the women in my family all have nice, smooth complexions and we look young for our age. I also do take care of my skin, but I could put the same amount of effort into it side by side with another person and they might still have adult acne issues that I have never dealt with because I was blessed with nice skin.

      • BeanieBean says:

        They inherited two things from their parents: slim shapes AND good nutritional habits & daily exercise of some sort.

    • Rhys says:

      It’s their body shape. They obviously watch what they eat, but essentially they are slim girls. Even at her heaviest Kate just looked healthy (sitting on that cricket stick or whatever its called in that photo), never fat.

      • Buttphone says:

        Some of us have the opposite problem. The women in my family post-menopause have a hard time keeping muscle OR fat. They can look a bit gaunt and are prone to unjuries and heart problems.

        These women eat well, have personal trainers/gym memberships/home gyms. They also enjoy sports and physical pursuits. They are slim because they don’t have to get up at 5 to finish laundry for 3 kids under 15, cook breakfast and pack lunches for their entire families, don’t need 2+hours of their day to be wasted stuck in traffic during a daily commute, actually have time gora

  6. Laura says:

    He has a preference……? she kinda resembles his ex wife. At least in the pic with her hair pulled back.

  7. Nev says:

    Creep. Thirsty. Hurting. Ughhhhhh

  8. Ally says:

    She really looks so much like Wallis Simpson.

    Also, NBC execs claim no one knew about Matt Lauer, but staffers knew to be nervous when he showed interest in a (high-profile) woman?!

  9. ChillyWilly says:

    You know what’s crazy? I actually remember watching Today’s live coverage of Will & Kate’s wedding and being appalled by Matt Lauer making a crude reference to Pippa’s backside and how good it looked. It was gross to me then and now makes me even sicker knowing what a monster this man really is.

    • Rhys says:

      You must be right! The fact that I watched it too and don’t remember his comment just goes to prove how sexism is internalized within us.

    • Maria says:

      I watched it too and I remember his awkward comments. I remember feeling sorry for Pippa for sitting across from him. She must have been very uncomfortable.

  10. Jane says:

    Pippa would have been fine. Matt knew who to mess with. Even he’s not stupid enough to try anything with the sister of royalty. His head might literally have been offed then. Pippa probably did a really shitty test job and that’s why NBC exec shut it down. Believable if you read her party pieces book and saw how childish her writing was

    • Alex Jones says:

      Harvey Weinstein assaulted Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie. Both of them had powerful connections in the entertainment industry and it didn’t deter him. I don’t think abusers stay away from powerful women for fear of getting caught. They want domination and nothing will stop them. Plus, Pippa was a perfect target. There is no way the BRF would have let her accuse him of any impropriety. She would have been brought back to the UK and silenced.

      “When you walk into the room, does he drool?” Gross, gross, and more gross.

      • Jane says:

        But at the time that Gwyneth and Angelina were attacked, they were not that famous. Plus their families never had that superstar level fame that they have. It’s also one thing to attack an upcoming actress with somewhat famous parents someone with connections to a royal family member. It would be seen as an attack on the whole institution. Hence why Harvey Weinstein never went after malia Obama bc pippa Middleton was the British Version of Mali to Matt Lauer

      • Alex Jones says:

        What are you talking about? Gwyneth Paltrow’s father was a producer and director. Her godfather is Steven Spielberg and Angelina Jolie’s father is an Oscar winner. They were part of famous families. Harvey Weinstein was also about to get dropped by Disney when he assaulted them. Predators have no limits. Pippa’s the sister-in-law to the future King of England, yes. And that would be something very stupid to do if they BRF still had “off with their head” power, but they don’t. If Matt Lauer assaulted her, do you really think they would want to make that known to the public? I highly doubt it.

    • Mary-Jo says:

      If his kind of thing was domination, he would have tried to abuse her too.

    • Insomniac says:

      I don’t know about that. I’m reading Ronan Farrow’s book, and there’s pretty much no limit to either the arrogance and entitlement of these predatory men or the extent they, the networks, and their powerful friends will go to to cover it all up. And they really, truly don’t see women as people. I’m not at all convinced Lauer wouldn’t have tried anything with her.

      Not a Pippa fan, but she dodged a bullet whatever happened there.

  11. MrsBanjo says:

    Lauer is a piece of shit and ultimately NBC’s decision was better for Pippa. She didn’t have constantly endure him.

  12. Sean says:

    One thing I’ve come to notice with all of these Matt Lauer posts is….he has the most soulless eyes.

  13. RoyalBlue says:

    She dodged a bullet there. I also don’t think she would have been a good fit.

  14. Mgsota says:

    Matt is a disgusting sexual predator.

    On another note…I didn’t get what all the fuss was about then…and I still don’t….regarding Pippa in her bridesmaid’s dress and her derrière.
    A slim women in a dress, her butt was barely noticeable. But it must just be me because everyone else in the world was going crazy.

  15. Lulu2 says:

    1. Who did Matt sleep with to get to the top? He’s awful, not funny, and lacks charisma. 2. Pippa is also stiff and her voice is grating.
    The Middleton family are hands down one of the most blessed families to walk this earth. Kate had that same voice once upon a time and is awful in interviews. The whole family to me seems so so so basic. Not interesting not beautiful no depth…..yet they all lead lives most simply can’t imagine. Amazing.

  16. Mary-Jo says:

    “… does he drool?”

    That man is creepy.

  17. Plinkleplop says:

    Kate and Pippa’s differences in accents are so facinating to me. You can tell how much coaching Kate has received to sound more posh.

    • Rhys says:

      Must be so. I mean, is it even possible that two sisters who grew up and hang out together ALL the time have such drastically different accents? It’s fake 🙂

  18. undergalaxy says:

    I found out the other day that her schoolmates used to call her Panface.

    Ouch.

  19. Senator Fan says:

    Ugh! Shudder! What a sick POS! She definitely dodged a bullet. I hope the stories of him keep coming out. The more we hear of these predators the more I think we haven’t even touched the surface. There must be so many more that haven’t been exposed. But they all will eventually no doubt.