Matt Lauer’s ‘Creepy’ Comments About Kelly Clarkson Resurface

Matt Lauer‘s 2004 interview with Kelly Clarkson resurfaced on Twitter, in light of the sexual harassment allegations the former Today Show anchor now faces. In the interview, Lauer says Clarkson has a “hot new look.”

The interview was taped in 2004, when Clarkson was promoting her second album, Breakaway.

“Kelly Clarkson is not afraid of change,” Lauer says to open the segment. “She’s out with her second album. It’s got a new sound and she’s got a hot new look as well. The album is called Breakaway.”

After Lauer says good morning, the then-23-year-old Clarkson looks a little surprised.

“I have a hot new look? That’s exciting,” Clarkson says.

“Well, I’m back from vacation and you caught my attention in a hurry. I’ll tell you that,” Lauer says.

A Twitter user posted the interview on Nov. 29, hours after Lauer was fired.

“I always got creepy vibes from @MLauer. Especially when he made this comment to @kelly_clarkson (who was 23 at the time) and eyed her up and down like she was a piece of meat,” @brianneamira wrote.

Since Lauer was fired on Wednesday, internet users have gone back over his thousands of interviews with celebrities to find creepy moments. For example, he told Meredith Vieira in 2006 to “Keep bending over like that, it’s a nice view.”

Six years later, he opened an interview with Anne Hathaway with, “Seen a lot of you lately,” after tabloids published an upskirt photo.

As Clarkson’s career progressed, the 35-year-old American Idol winner has openly discussed body image. In October, she said she felt suicidal during her early career because she was pressured to stay “really skinny.”

“When I was really skinny, I wanted to kill myself,” the singer told Attitude Magazine. “I was miserable, like inside and out, for four years of my life. But no one cared, because aesthetically you make sense.”

“It’s when I’m fat that I’m happy. People think, Oh, there’s something wrong with her. She’s putting on weight,” Clarkson said in an interview with Redbook last month. “I’m like, ‘Oh, no! I’m sorry, but that represents happiness in my emotional world.’ For me, when I’m skinny is usually when I’m not doing well. If you gauge your life on what other people think, you’re going to be in a constant state of panic trying to please everyone.”