Kathie Lee Gifford recalls Howard Stern asking for forgiveness after feud

Kthie Lee Gifford ais sharing how a decades-long feud with Howard Stern ended with a phone call.

In Gifford’s new memoir, “I Want to Matter: Your Life Is Too Short and Too Precious to Waste,” she explores the power of forgiveness through her relationship with the infamous shock jock.

“It was a surprise to get a voicemail from Howard Stern,” Gifford, 70, told Fox News Digital in an interview published Tuesday. “Once I listened to it, I said to my kids at the table, ‘Well, pigs have now officially flown. … (But) I just always believe God can touch anybody’s heart … I’m not allowed to hate anybody that hates me. Once you start praying for people, you can’t hate them. Love cannot live where hate does, and it’s a very simple thing.”

“The Baxters” star continued: “As you grow in your faith, you learn, ‘I’ve got to pray for that person right now. What they just said was so horrible,'” said Gifford. “Just pray. Ask God to heal them, because hurt people, hurt people. It’s the truth.”

Join our Watch Party!Sign up to receive USA TODAY’s movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox

According to the book, per Fox News Digital, the feud between Gifford and Stern began in 1995 when she was chosen to sing the national anthem at Super Bowl XXIX, where her husband, former NFL player and sportscaster Frank Gifford, was set to broadcast.

The former “Today” host has said that she heard booing as she sang and later learned Stern had allegedly told his listeners to boo her.

USA TODAY has reached out to Stern and Gifford for comment.

Years later, when Stern was a guest on “Today,” she said God told her to reach out with a warm gesture.

“The Lord… said, ‘Kathie, go down and say hello to him, and wish him well with the show.’ And I said, ‘OK Lord,'” Gifford told Fox News Digital. “I got up out of my hair and makeup (room). Those girls had been told, ‘Don’t let Kathie go anywhere near the studio.’ … I couldn’t care less. I go downstairs. They go, ‘Where are you going?’ I said, ‘I’m going to go say hello to Howard.’