Kathie Lee Gifford, did you really say this?

We need to think the highest and best of Kathie Lee Gifford; my hope is she really didn't say this. Den

By Katherine Weber | Christian Post Reporter

(Photo: Reuters/Robert Caplin)
NBC talk show host Kathie Lee Gifford is receiving criticism for comments on parenting she made to Family Circle magazine that the parents of drug addicts have found offensive.
"I'm not a perfect mom, but my kids haven't been arrested, in rehab or kicked out of school, so I must be doing something right!" Gifford recently told Family Circle magazine regarding her parenting style of her two children, Cassidy and Cody.
Gifford's comment sparked controversy among her fans, who are accusing her of taking a jab at the parents of drug addicts.
The "Today" show host's Facebook page is now being drowned in criticism for her comment, predominately from parents who have lost their children to addiction, with some calling her a "thoughtless human being" and others saying she is insensitive.
"I raised one daughter who graduated with two majors and has been very successful. I have raised another daughter who got involved with drugs and spent the last year in a drug rehab," one parent commented on her Facebook.
"Parents are not always to blame for their children's successes or failures. Until you've walked in the shoes of parents of addicts, you need to keep your opinions to yourself or learn a little bit about the disease," the parent added.
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Another commenter wrote: "Well Kathy, here is a pic of my little brother who we lost at the age of 33 yrs old due to a DISEASE called DRUG ADDICTION. I find it funny we were both raised by the same woman called MOM ... I am NOT an ADDICT and NEVER was ... Poor parenting?? Gimme a break."
This isn't the first public gaffe Gifford has made that has upset her viewers. In a May interview with Martin Short, Gifford asked how the actor's wife was doing, unaware that Short's wife had passed away a year and a half ago.
Gifford, 58, is most famous for her time as talk show host on the "Live With Regis and Kathie Lee" show, which she co-hosted with Regis Philbin.

Comments

[Diane Smit]

Dennis, as an out-going, gregarious guy, who is often "up front" or on the air, with perhaps thousands of people listening to each word you say, you should understand that her comment was undoubtedly not made with any malice. She just wasn't THINKING! And that is often a sin for entertainers & politicians. There would only be an audience of one if I might "joke" something similar regarding my parenting of teen-agers: "Well, I must have done something right, my kids are still alive!" And then I'd be stabbed through the heart as I think of your family and our dear Nate, who isn't. This reminds me of our political candidates who must pay strict attention to each word that comes out of their mouths, because if they don't, the opposition will pounce. I like your comment about thinking the highest and best... if she actually said the words, let's assume that they weren't said in order to stab through the hearts of those who lost children to drugs (NOT poor parenting). I know nothing about this woman, but I'd like to make that assumption.

[Beth Bright]

I am a recovering drug addict and alcoholic. I was raised in Christian home and even went to a Christian school. I have 8 beautiful children. Most of them are children by marriage whose mothers abandoned them for drugs and/or alcohol. I have seen the hurt in these poor children's eyes and the hurt turns to anger. They are innocent victims of a disease that only the person that has the disease can control. I pray everyday that my children do not become a victim of this disease and if they do God forbid I will be there standing right beside them to help them.