Savannah Guthrie Regrets "Ambushing" Khloé Kardashian with Paternity Question
Esteemed broadcast veteran, Savannah Guthrie, recently offered a candid retrospective on her extensive career, disclosing a particular on-air instance she deeply regrets.
Appearing on the Today show's October 20th broadcast, the 53-year-old acclaimed journalist was prompted to reflect on any past interviews that left her with reservations.
Guthrie revisited a 2012 interview moment where she questioned then-guest, Khloé Kardashian, regarding persistent speculation that the late Robert Kardashian was not her biological parent. She admitted to ambushing the Good American entrepreneur, 41, with the intensely personal query right before a commercial break, acknowledging its inherently awkward nature.
“I directly asked Khloé Kardashian, literally ten seconds before we cut to commercial, about the whispers regarding her father's true paternity,” Guthrie recounted retrospectively. (During that period, numerous media outlets were scrutinizing whether O.J. Simpson might be Kardashian’s biological father.)
Unpacking the O.J. Simpson and Khloé Kardashian Paternity Speculation
Guthrie confessed to feeling considerable discomfort during the exchange, attributing it to "immense pressure" from producers who were insistent on her posing the sensational query.
The esteemed television figure commended Kardashian for elegantly dismissing the rumors, remaining composed and unperturbed by the intrusive inquiry.
“So right at the close, we were like, ‘And Khloé, what's the deal with this rumor that Robert Kardashian isn’t actually your father?’ And the countdown was happening: ‘Ten, nine, eight…’ I felt incredibly mortified,” Guthrie elaborated. “Yet, she handled it with such grace. Her response was simply, ‘Oh, it’s nothing.’ We cut to break. I posed the question, and Khloé truly exemplified professionalism.”
The mother of two — now a parent to daughter True and son Tatum with former partner Tristan Thompson — had previously debunked these theories in a May 2012 installment of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, where she was advised to undergo a paternity test to definitively resolve the matter.
Khloé ultimately declined, unequivocally asserting that her “dad is Robert Kardashian.”
Her familial circle extends to older sisters Kourtney and Kim Kardashian, alongside younger brother Rob Kardashian, and half-sisters Kendall and Kylie Jenner.
Simpson's connection to the Kardashian household ran deep, owing to his close friendship with Robert Sr., who famously joined his defense team during the highly publicized 1994 trial where Simpson was accused of the murders of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her acquaintance, Ron Goldman. Simpson was acquitted in the criminal proceedings in October 1995 but was later found liable in a civil suit in February 1997.
Poignant Tributes from the Kardashian Family Regarding Robert Kardashian
“Khloe, like all the girls, makes me incredibly proud, just as I'm certain Bob would feel if he were still with us,” Simpson posted on X (formerly Twitter) in 2019, addressing the rumors. “The undeniable truth is, she is not my daughter.”
The erstwhile NFL luminary once more confronted the paternity conjectures during a 2022 installment of the “Full Send” podcast, unequivocally stating, “The speculation holds no truth whatsoever; it’s entirely fabricated.”
“Everyone has their preferences, don't they? I always found Kris [Jenner] to be quite charming,” he added, reiterating his earlier statements. “She was truly pleasant. However, my dating life at the time revolved around supermodels.”
Simpson passed away in April 2024 at 76 years old, following a battle with prostate cancer.
