Matt Lauer used the 60th anniversary bash for “Today” to make light of rumors that Ryan Seacrest will replace him on the show.
“The people in the room right now, their names are so closely associated with the ‘Today’ show,” Lauer said at a party Thursday night at the Edison Ballroom in Midtown. “Hugh Downs and Barbara Walters, Tom Brokaw and Jane Pauley, Deborah Norville, Bryant Gumbel and Katie Couric . . . Ryan Seacrest.” At which point the room exploded with laughter.
Seacrest has been rumored to be a potential successor to Lauer, and reports surfaced last month that the “American Idol” host met with NBC brass, including “Today” executive producer Jim Bell, about a role with the show.
But a source close to the program who was at the event said the Seacrest talk has been “blown out of proportion.”
The source told us, “Ryan met with the ‘Today’ EP [executive producer], and they talked about him doing more with the show, similarly to how they used Maria Menounos and other NBC talent. I wouldn’t be surprised if you see [Seacrest] pop up in the 9 a.m. slot now and again.”
Meanwhile, insiders say that Lauer still has a considerable amount of time on his contract.
After thanking “Today” for helping his career, rapper Flo Rida invited women to join him onstage, and anchors Hoda Kotb, Savannah Guthrie, Natalie Morales, Star Jones and Katie Couric, among others, obliged and danced to his hit song, “Low.”
A spy saw Jones “flirt” with Flo Rida onstage, telling us, “She was definitely working it.”
Anchor Brian Williams, leaving at about 9 p.m., told us, “I have work tomorrow. This is a fun party, but I don’t drink, so I won’t take part in all that [late-night dancing].”
While many show staffers got on the dance floor to get down, “Today” honcho Bell told us, “This is the perfect combination for a good party: Barbara Walters and Flo Rida.”