Everyone Has A Story...What's Kathie Lee's?

Okay, this post is really just venting. Kathie Lee, bless her heart, has been annoying me for years now, but this tops it all.

They have a segment on their show where they honor people for one reason or another. This mom writes a letter to the show to brag about how great her son is. Now, mind you, I am the first to brag about my kids and share their witty little stories. You know you've received those emails and texts! :) But to go on national television and brag about them???? The kicker is what she says. Her son, a handsome and athletic high school senior, befriended a freshman who was sitting by himself. The freshman is a young man who has Asperger Syndrome.

Well, this is all nice and good. The two actually develop a friendship. Great! It was really nice of that young man to befriend someone. Then the mother of the boy who has AS, tells the mother of the senior how much it has changed her son's life for the better because this senior is his friend. This is what prompted the mother, I guess, to write a letter bragging about her son.

Kathie Lee jumps on board with this. Not only does she have the two young men come on the show with their mothers, she wrote a song for them! Yeah, that's exactly what two young men want...a song by Kathie Lee Gifford written for them. After some interviewing of the senior (who by this time is in college) they include talking to the other young man. Clearly, Kathie Lee and Hoda are not comfortable with talking to someone who is "different".  Kathie Lee speaks to him as if he were a five-year-old and even accidentally calls him by the wrong name.

But let's get to the song. This song is a depressing piece of junk. Why on earth she thought these two guys would think it was a tribute to them, I cannot comprehend. Pretty much the song talked about how much a social misfit this young man was but then the "miracle" of you (the senior) came along and made things better. Not to mention it is performed by a Broadway screeching soprano. So, really, did you think two young jocks would like that?

When the song is finished, Kathie Lee turns to the young man with AS and asks how he likes the song. He said it was just too sad. They all laugh! What? He just told you the song you wrote about his life is too sad and you laugh? She also asks the senior if he liked the song. Well, what do you think he's going to say on national television?

I really felt bad for those two young men. I wished they had told their mothers they refuse to go on the show. I wanted to ask the mother of the young man with AS how she felt about it afterward? Maybe not such a good idea.

I don't mean for this to come across as angry, but I realize it is. I can't stand how this young man was made to feel in front on a live audience and the rest of the nation. He didn't ask to be born with Asperger Syndrome. Just keep in mind his social patterns and such will be different than yours and just be his friend. The young senior was doing that. My hat is off to him. But to bring it on national tv?

You can find a clip of it on YouTube. I didn't want to post a link of it. I think it's titled "Kathie Lee makes an Autistic boy cry". In her defense, that title is totally misleading. I don't think she meant to make him sad with her song. I think she just didn't think things through.