Hoda Kotb Got “Scared” After She Accidentally Urged Cher To Drop The F-Bomb On ‘The Today Show’

Hoda Kotb suffered a major hiccup on The Today Show Tuesday (Nov. 9) morning after Cher unexpectedly cursed during their live interview when Kotb encouraged her to share her story.

The slip-up happened during the early hours of the broadcast when Kotb sat down for a one-on-one interview with the singer and movie star, who revealed her late ex-husband and collaborator Sonny Bono had secretly taken all of the money she earned from their business partnership when they broke up.

“You sought out another iconic woman for advice. You called Lucille Ball. And what did she tell you to do?” Kotb asked Cher, who hesitantly replied, “I can’t say it on TV. Do you want to bleep it?”

Kotb encouraged her to share it anyway, promising, “We’ll bleep it.”

Cher explained that she called Ball and told her, “Lucy, I’m calling you because to my knowledge there’s never been a situation besides mine except yours. And so she said, ‘Fuck him. You’re the one with the talent.'”

Cher’s curse was not bleeped out in the moment as Kotb promised, which appeared to seriously shock the host. “Okay we’ll… we didn’t have the seven-second [delay], but we’ll get it for the next feed,” Kotb said as she blushed and laughed.

“Well, you said I could!” Cher replied.

“I should have bleeped it myself,” Kotb replied through her nervous laughter.

Later on, Kotb recapped their revelatory interview to Jenna Bush Hager during the 10 a.m. hour of the Today broadcast, where she admitted that the moment “scared” her.

“I was scared,” Kotb admitted. “I mean, it was…”

But Bush Hager wasn’t buying it. “By the way, you told her to,” she noted.

“No I didn’t! I didn’t mean that,” Kotb replied. “I said, ‘You can say it. We can bleep it.’ But what I meant, like, bleep like right in the moment. I didn’t mean, ‘say it!'”

But Kotb only praised the singer-songwriter on the broadcast, telling Bush Hager, “She’s an icon. She walked in, you felt it. And she doesn’t give a rip about anything at all.”

Bush Hager said that Kotb also didn’t seem to “give a rip” now that she’s approaching her own retirement. “You say, ‘Yeah put on a 7-second delay. I’m already gone. Remember I told you I’m leaving?'” she joked.

Scroll up to check out the hilarious moment between Cher and Kotb — though we have to note, Cher’s cursing has since been censored.