Savannah Guthrie breaks down ‘really embarrassing’ interview with Khloé Kardashian

Savannah Guthrie was mortified when “Today” show producers told her to ask Khloé Kardashian about rumors that Robert Kardashian was not her biological father.

Guthrie recalled the “really embarrassing” interview — which took place in 2012, the same year she became a co-anchor — while appearing on Andy Cohen’s SiriusXM show, “Radio Andy,” on Thursday.

“There had been these stories circulating in the press that her father, Robert Kardashian, wasn’t really her father,” Guthrie said, prompting Cohen to point out that people thought OJ Simpson was Khloé’s real dad.

“Who knows? I can’t even remember the details,” the journalist, 53, admitted. “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 Guthrie recalled an embarrassing interview with Khloé Kardashian on SiriusXM’s “Radio Andy” Thursday. Youtube/ , SiriusXM Guthrie said “Today” show producers wanted her to ask Kardashian about rumors that Robert Kardashian was not her real father. Youtube/ , SiriusXM

Despite her hesitation, Guthrie said she “did what any naive, green anchor would do” and left the prying question until the last second of her sit-down with the “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” star.

“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,” she shared.

And so, Guthrie decided to ask Khloé about the rumors with just 10 seconds left in the segment.

“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?'” she remembered.

“And God bless her — if I saw her today, I’d hug her for this — I don’t know if she’s such a pro that she saw them counting down, like three, two … and she said, ‘Yep, I know. Nothing to it.’ And I was like, ‘And we’ll be right back.’ She saved my butt.”

“I was very embarrassed to ask such a question,” Guthrie admitted. Youtube/ , SiriusXM The co-anchor said she waited until there were just 10 seconds left in the segment to question Kardashian about the gossip. NBC Newswire/NBCUniversal via Getty Images “I said, ‘Khloé, just real quickly, in the seconds we have, there have been some stories that Robert Kardashian is not your father,'” she recalled. NBC Newswire/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

Khloé, now 40, appeared on “Today” in 2012 to discuss her E! reality show with her then-husband, Lamar Odom.

As NBC’s music started playing, signaling that the segment was going to cut to commercial, Guthrie awkwardly stammered through the question.

“Actually, I think we’re out of time. Nothing more to say about what people said about your father, your biological father?” she asked as the screen cut from the studio to a promotional photo for “Khloé & Lamar.”

“I don’t know who my daddy is, I guess. I don’t know,” Khloé joked, to which Guthrie replied with a laugh, “Yes, you do.”

Rumors had swirled that Khloé’s mom, Kris Jenner, had conceived her daughter with OJ Simpson. SplashNews.com Robert was one of Simpson’s lawyers during the former NFL star’s murder trial. AFP via Getty Images

Khloé has addressed the gossip on multiple occasions, including in 2017 after Simpson was released from prison, where he had been serving time for an armed robbery in Las Vegas.

“They are all f–ked lol such a–holes. Hehe oh well… I’m happy and they hatin,” she wrote on Twitter (now known as X) after being bombarded by trolls questioning her dad’s paternity.

Simpson also shut down the claims in 2022 while appearing on the “Full Send” podcast.

“People have their types, right? I always thought Kris [Jenner] was a cute girl,” he said of Khloé’s mom at the time. “She was really nice. But I was dating supermodels.”

Simpson was charged with the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman in 1994. Getty Images Khloé, seen here in 2014, has addressed the long-time rumors on multiple occasions. Getty Images

The former NFL star added, “The rumor ain’t true. It’s not even anywhere close to being true.”

Simpson was a close friend of Robert, who was part of the legal team that defended the athlete when he was charged with the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman in 1994.

Simpson was acquitted in 1995 but later found responsible for Goldman’s wrongful death in a civil lawsuit filed by the victim’s family.

The retired football player died at age 76 in April 2024 after battling prostate cancer.

Simpson denied Khloé was his child in 2022. DIggzy/Jesal / BACKGRID Guthrie said Khloé, seen here with her kids in January, “saved [her] butt.” khloekardashian/Instagram

Jenner, 69, admitted to having an affair during her marriage to Robert, who died of esophageal cancer at age 59 in 2003, in her 2011 memoir, “Kris Jenner…And All Things Kardashian” — but not with Simpson.

“Robert had been the only man in my life since I was 18,” the momager wrote. “I don’t know why I was having a mid-life crisis at 30, but I was. His name was Ryan, and he was a producer. We had wild sex everywhere, all the time.”

In addition to Khloé, Jenner and Robert welcomed three other kids together: Kourtney Kardashian, Kim Kardashian and Rob Kardashian.

Jenner and the late attorney shared Khloé, Kim, Kourtney and Rob. Instagram Kris welcomed Kylie and Kendall with Caitlyn Jenner, seen here in 2000. AFP via Getty Images

The pair divorced in 1991 after 13 years of marriage, and Jenner moved on with Caitlyn Jenner.

She and Caitlyn, who were married from 1991 to 2015, share daughters Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner.

Kris has been in a relationship with Cory Gamble since 2014.