Elaine Stritch drops expletive on ‘Today’

Things tend to get pretty loose in the fourth hour of “Today,” but even co-hosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb were shocked when guest Elaine Stritch dropped an F-bomb on the show Tuesday.

The celebrated 89-year-old actress, known for her work on Broadway and in numerous films and television series, including “30 Rock,” was making a visit to promote a new documentary about her life, “Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me.”

Clad in a fabulous matching fur coat and hat and oversized black-rimmed glasses, Stritch made herself comfortable from the get go, resting her famous legs on Gifford’s lap.

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“You are so beloved — of course for your work but as much for your mouth,” Gifford said. “You say whatever you want to say. When did all that happen?”

Stritch tried to respond by making a serious point about television censorship and naughty language, but it got lost once she let an F-bomb fly. “If you just say things naturally, it’s fine. You know, they just think in...”

Gifford gasped in shock, while Kotb reassured her the curse would be bleeped (on the East Coast broadcast, it was not). After taking a few seconds to regroup, the hosts soldiered on with the conversation.

“I think talking and telling the truth is a lot of fun,” Stritch said. We can tell.

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