The co-host made the revelation just as she was about to jump into the interview portion of the segment.
Savannah Guthrie made a startling admission in the middle of interviewing Johnny Depp's attorneys on the Today show -- her husband, Michael Feldman, worked as a consultant for the actor's legal team in his defamation trial.
The 50-year-old co-anchor was setting up the interview during Wednesday's show and recapping the trial that saw Depp score a victory against Amber Heard in his defamation trial against her. As she introduced Depp's attorneys, Camille Vasquez and Benjamin Chew, Guthrie then offered "a quick disclosure."
"My husband has done consulting work for the Depp legal team, but not in connection with this interview," she told viewers at home before beginning the interview portion of the segment.
Feldman, who tied the knot with Guthrie in 2014, has deep ties in the Washington, D.C. community, once serving as former Vice President Al Gore's traveling chief of staff during Gore's 2000 presidential run.
Feldman is a public relations consultant and the founding partner and managing director of the consulting firm The Glover Park Group. He joined the public relations firm FGS Global earlier this year as a managing partner and the North American Co-CEO. According to his bio, he "helps manage business operations and directs strategy for a range of corporations, non-profits, advocacy organizations and individuals."
During the interview, Chew and Vasquez were asked about the backlash Depp's victory has received and how social media played a role in it.
"No, I don’t think there’s any reason to believe that the jurors violated their oath,” Chew said of the impact of social media. “And again, that suggestion was disappointing to hear [from Heard’s lawyer].”
The six-week trial came to an end last week with the jury unanimously deciding that Depp was defamed by the 36-year-old actress and that Heard "acted with actual malice." Depp was awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, though his punitive damages were reduced to $350,000 in accordance with the state's statutory cap.
Depp first filed his $50 million defamation lawsuit against Heard in March 2019 in response to an op-ed his ex wrote for the Washington Post in December 2018 about being the victim of domestic violence. The article itself did not mention Depp by name, though their contentious 2016 divorce had been in the news over the previous two years.
While Guthrie also interviewed Heard's lawyer, Elaine Charlson Bredehoft, last week, the newswoman did not disclose her husband's ties to Depp's legal team, according to The Daily Beast. The outlet also reported that it appeared Guthrie also didn't offer the disclosure when she anchored NBC News' special coverage of the verdict on June 1.
RELATED CONTENT:
