Ellen DeGeneres and Matt Lauer had been engaged in what is now known as "prank wars" for quite some time now and both talk show hosts decided that the time is right to finally end their "feud." In a pre-taped clip aired to kick off the 2015 Daytime Emmy Awards on Sunday, the two came together and shared their decision of putting stop to their "pranking" ways, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"Here's what we're doing," Lauer, the host of The Today Show, shared in the video. "In the spirit of the Daytime Emmys, Ellen [DeGeneres] and I are here to announce that we are officially ending our feud or prank war," he declared, taking cue from DeGeneres standing right beside him and nodding in agreement to his announcement. While this may seem to be a typical announcement, the next moments made it special as Lauer and DeGeneres pulled off yet another surprising twist.
Within minutes since he made the announcement, Lauer stripped off his suit and was seen wearing costume that could be only presumed to have been taken inspiration from the bestselling novel Fifty Shades of Grey. Taking a look at her partner's outfit, which included tights, lingerie, and metal clamps, DeGeneres struggled to keep her composure and prevent herself from laughing. "Matt, please! This is a dignified celebration," the host of the Ellen DeGeneres show jokingly pleaded. "This is the best in daytime. Oh my god, pull it together," she added.
While a lot of the viewers thought that the hilarious prank pulled by Lauer was the end of the clip, another surprise was revealed. DeGeneres also announced that Lauer generously agreed to donate $1000 from his own personal account to an unspecified charity every time a winner offers his or her gratitude to him in his or her acceptance speech. Hence, a thousand dollars will be charged to Lauer anytime an awardee comes onstage and thanks the talk show host in his or her speech.
With this in mind, it appears that everyone in attendance took great care to thank Lauer in their acceptance speech. Tyra Banks thanked the talks show host 12 times in her speech. Meanwhile, Nancy O'Dell, the host of Entertainment Tonight, mentioned his name three times when she took the stage following her group's victory for the Outstanding Entertainment News Program. Craig Ferguson, the winner of the Outstanding Game Show Host category for Celebrity Name Game, thanked Lauer four times.
