Today Show

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Kathie Lee Gifford doesn't shave her vagina ... in fact, she looks down on people who do (people like Hoda Kotb) ... and the only reason we know it is because she talked all about her hoo-hah hair care ON LIVE TV!!!

Kathie Lee and Hoda were talking pubes on "Today" Friday morning ... and discussing if certain personality traits fall in line with how a woman manicures her special area.

Kathie Lee made it clear ... she rocks the full vagina-fro ... and she's damn proud of it.

Hoda on the other hand ... not so much.

10:28 AM PST: A rep for Paula tells TMZ ... the notion that she was drunk is ridiculous, because Paula's not a drinker.

She INSISTED the morning mojito she sipped on was of the virgin variety ... but Paula Deen's goofy, salsa-dancing, chicken-ball obsessed appearance on "Today" had the Internet asking ... was she drunk??

Deen and her son kicked it with the morning show gang in Miami this morning to talk food -- but Deen was taking the conversation all over the place ... and people on Twitter began to question her sobriety.

She started with an impromptu hip-shaking salsa dance ... before talking about a run-in with a skunk that went down before the show began. Deen also tried to make the hosts smell her hands.

Doesn't seem like she was hammered ... just her usual loud, uninhibited self.

TMZ now knows where in the world Matt Lauer is ... skiing his face off in Vail.

As we previously reported ... Matt took the week off from "Today" to spend time with his kids ... smack in the middle of a critical sweeps period ... when show ratings = ad money.

The pic shows Matt purchasing a pair of ski boots today at Surefoot in Vail, Colorado.

The salesman tells TMZ, Lauer came in and said, "Gimme the best thing you have for my foot" ... so he obliged.

Coincidentally, the salesman's friend is Matt's ski instructor ... who called Matt a "solid skier."

While Matt plays in the snow, the "Today" show is getting trounced by "Good Morning America" -- on Monday, "GMA" beat "Today" by 800,000 viewers. On Tuesday, nearly a million.

And today should be devastating for "Today" because it's Robin Roberts first day back on "GMA."

Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb are at loggerheads over moving their hour of "Today" to Hollywood ... TMZ has learned.

Sources connected to "Today" tell TMZ ... Kathie Lee has been lobbying to move the show for a long time, but Hoda has been adamant -- she wants to stay in NYC.

Our sources say Hoda felt the heat was off when Kathie Lee started doing her Broadway show ... she thought Kathie Lee might get off the whole L.A. thing. But when the show wrapped in December, Kathie Lee immediately started pushing again for an L.A. move.

Our sources say there is "some tension" between Hoda and Kathie Lee ... which began when Hoda felt Kathie Lee snubbed her by not promoting her book on the air.

"Both women are really strong, so tension is almost inevitable," says one source. For now, they've reached a compromise ... they would do the show for a few weeks here and there in L.A., but we're told Kathie Lee is unbending -- she wants to make the move.

Ronaiah Tuiasosopo is gay ... at least he thinks he's gay ... he's not really sure -- at least that's what he told Dr. Phil.

Phil appeared on "Today" this morning ... and dished about his interview with the man behind the Manti Te'o not-really-dead girlfriend hoax.

"Here we have a young man that fell deeply, romantically in love," Phil said of Ronaiah.

"I ask him straight up ... was this a romantic relationship with you? And he says, 'Yes.'"

Phil continued ... "I said, are you then, therefore, gay? And he says, 'Well, when you put it that way, yes.'"

Phil says Ronaiah then "caught himself" and said, "I am confused."

Phil says Ronaiah admitted to running the hoax -- but says he had a number of life experiences that left him "damaged" in many serious ways.

First he sharts ... and now Al Roker is urinating all over the "Today" show -- figuratively speaking (actually, the sharting was real).

Roker groused to a reporter that our story on Al pooping his pants at the White House should not have blown up the way it did because it was old news.

But as Al explained ...he spoke about the sharting incident on the "Today" show several days before and nobody cared -- it was only when the story appeared online that anyone noticed.

In so many words ... he's saying the "Today" show is irrelevant.

Katherine Webb -- the GF of Alabama star QB A.J. McCarron -- says ESPN had no reason to issue an apology for Brent Musburger's televised swooning during the BCS Championship game ... because the comments were nothing but flattering.

Webb appeared on "Today" moments ago and stood up for the 73-year-old --saying, “I think the media has been really unfair to [Musburger]."

She added, "If he would’ve said something along the line that we were hot or sexy or made any derogatory statements like that, I think that would’ve been a little bit different, but the fact that he said that we were beautiful and gorgeous, I don’t see why any woman wouldn’t be flattered by that."

Matt Lauer is "freaked out" that people -- and lots of them -- have been screaming at him on the streets of Manhattan, calling him names and blaming him for the demise of Ann Curry.

Network sources tell TMZ ... Matt is "miserable" over what he believes are hateful and unfair tirades. Matt says the harassment is constant, with people screaming things like "You're a bad guy,"and "You got Ann fired. Does that make you happy?"

Matt is telling people at NBC there have also been lots of sarcastic comments about his $25 million salary. He feels "abused," insisting Ann's firing is not his fault. But, as TMZ first reported, Matt made it clear when he re-signed -- he didn't want Ann in the picture.

One network source says, "It's driving him crazy. He's so unhappy."

Lindsay Lohan has triggered a broadcast war, with the folks at "Today" accusing "Good Morning America" of whoring themselves out to score an interview with the actress.

GMA insists they did not agree to all but declare personal questions off limits during Lindsay's interview on Friday ... despite multiple reports to the contrary. And they not-so-obtusely accuse "Today" -- aka the "desperate competitor" -- of leaking the story.

"Today" producers have fired back ... saying the interview was "weak" and they have no one to blame but themselves.

Truth be told ... Rogers and Cowan, Lindsay's P.R. flack, and most other publicists get these shows to limit questions in return for big interviews, even though everyone denies it.

But here's the problem for GMA. They say they did not agree to any conditions and asked the questions they wanted to ask.

Well, the way we see it, that would make them crappy interviewers, because the only personal question they asked Lindsay about was her newly-discovered half-sister. There are a few other questions on the table -- e.g., how do you feel about the fact that you're about to be prosecuted for yet another crime and you'll probably go to jail?

Steven Tyler had a rough morning -- not only did he not know what show he was on, he also dropped an F-bomb on live television!

Tyler -- who is probably never awake at such an early hour -- performed with Aerosmith on the "Today" show this morning ... only he thought he was on a different program. Al Roker's reaction ... priceless.

Then, while Roker was giving a weather update, Tyler screamed in the background to the crowd, "Thanks for coming out, you crazy f**ks!"

Al Roker seems to be a happy camper on the "Today" show ... despite the alleged tension between himself and Matt Lauer ... and the proof lies in an audio clip the public wasn't supposed to hear.

Roker was doing his usual weather thing this morning ... when he tossed to the local anchors for the local weather report. For some reason, WNBC in New York didn't cut away from the "Today" feed ... and continued to air footage that Al, Matt and the rest of the unsuspecting gang didn't think was being broadcasted.

During the rare behind-the-scenes moment, Al was pretty funny ... happily babbling to himself while Matt and Natalie Morales had a friendly exchange over how to pronounce the name of Amanda Knox's former boyfriend.

Matt Lauer does NOT believe Al Roker is trying to sabotage the "Today" show ... despite his crazy antics ... telling TMZ that any talk of a riff between Al and the show is nothing more than a "rumor."

Matt was on his way home from the gym in NYC yesterday when we asked about all of the drama with the "Today" show ... including the fact that rival "Good Morning America" has TAKEN OVER as ratings leader in the morning news war.

"We feel the heat every day," Lauer says ... "but we have for the last 20 years that I've been there."

"We're just trying to do the best show we can do every single day ... and I think we're doing a good job right now ... and I think the cycle will reverse."

Al Roker is doing everything he can to undermine the "Today" show ... trashing the anchors, sabotaging live moments ... and it seems to be a part of a plan to avenge the firing of his bestest friend in the world, Ann Curry.

Roker went on the offensive again this morning ... trying to fire off another zinger at Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie during a live segment ... but this time the quip was more of a misfire.

Al was trying to explain why he pulled a weird frozen face for 17 confusing seconds during a live segment last week ... and when Savannah tried to joke about Roker being a perfect fit for a wax museum, Al shot back ... "We ARE in a wax museum, so it all works out pretty well."

Not funny, but it's obvious Al -- who is SUPER TIGHT with Ann -- is so desperate to rip the show ... he's firing off zingers, even if they don't really zing.

Things just got awkward on live TV ... with Al Roker seemingly calling out Matt Lauer for railroading Ann Curry off of the "Today" show.

Here's what happened -- Al, Matt and Savannah Guthrie were hanging with some Olympic rowers who were talking about some of their post-race traditions ... which includes flinging one of their teammates into the water.

Matt joked... "The tradition here in NY is you throw her in the Hudson River."

That's when Roker quickly chimed in ... "Which is different than OUR tradition ... which is you throw one of us under the bus, but that’s another story."

Cue some awkward laughter from Matt and Savannah.

As we previously reported, Ann believes Matt trashed her behind the scenes of the show ... and pressured NBC to fire her ass because he couldn't stand working with her. And, as we reported, part of Matt's deal in re-signing with Today was that Ann had to hit the road.

In the wake of the Colorado shooting, Ann Curry has been tapped to co-anchor "Today" this weekend along with Savannah Guthrie ... the woman who replaced her as co-host of "Today" earlier this month.

According to NBC, Curry and Guthrie will be traveling to Aurora, CO to provide "special coverage" of the massacre.

Matt Lauer will not be making the trip.

Call it morning (show) wood ... but Matt Lauer was SOOOO excited about introducing Savannah Guthrie as his new "Today" show co-anchor ... he could barely sit still.

With a giant "Thank god Ann Curry's finally gone" smile on his face ... Lauer said he was "pleased to be sharing this new day" with Guthrie ... noting, "We're all very happy" about the change.

Guthrie said it's "an honor" to be sitting next to Lauer.