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Kathie Lee Gifford is opening up about an uncomfortable experience she had with disgraced comedian Bill Cosby.
The former "Today" co-host previously worked with Cosby for two years, in which she traveled the country with him and even lived under the same roof as him during some of the trips.
At that time, Gifford told People magazine that she considered him a "good friend," but there was one situation in which he tried to take things too far.
Speaking to the outlet following release of her new book titled "It’s Never Too Late," she said Cosby once "tried to kiss me."
The magazine shares a quote from the book in which Gifford claims she did not "feel panicked" over his gesture.
Kathie Lee Gifford released a new memoir about her life, in which she discusses her former friendship with Bill Cosby. (Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for SiriusXM)
“I was as surprised as the rest of the world when, years later, Bill Cosby, at one time the most respected and admired man in America, was accused of all manner of despicable acts with a myriad of women,” Gifford writes.
Gifford's decade-long career in Hollywood meant that wasn't the first time a man had come on to her, she said, but fortunately, she turned him down and things did not escalate.
"I said, ‘No. Bill, you're my friend.’ He goes, ‘You're right. Good night,'" she recalled.
Cosby is currently serving a prison sentence in Montgomery County, Penn., following his 2018 sexual assault conviction. His lawyers are currently trying to overturn the conviction, with the appeal going before Pennsylvania's highest court on Tuesday.
Gifford said she was stunned to learn of Cosby's alleged history of intoxicating and sexually assaulting young women. She said she found the accusations "very painful, because that's not the man I knew."
KATHIE LEE GIFFORD SAYS IF SHE EVER FALLS IN LOVE AGAIN ‘IT WILL BE BECAUSE GOD JUST MADE IT HAPPEN’
Kathie Lee Gifford said said she was stunned to learn of the accusations against Bill Cosby, but didn't doubt his accusers' claims. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Earlier this week, Gifford spoke to Fox News about her memoir. In it, she touches on her first marriage to composer Paul Johnson and the challenges that came from it. The union lasted from 1976 until 1983. She went on to wed Frank Gifford, a football star-turned-broadcaster, in 1986. They remained together until his death in 2015.
Since departing "Today," Gifford discussed her future. She admitted to Fox News that she doesn't ever consider "retirement."
"No, I say refire. Refire and find something new, learn something new and do something new each day. And don't let fear paralyze you from living the most abundant life you can," she said.
KATHIE LEE GIFFORD HAS 'TOUGH DAYS' BUT SAYS 'WE'RE ALWAYS MORE BLESSED THAN WE ARE BURDENED'
Kathie Lee Gifford said she and Regis Philbin weren't afraid to have fun. (Photo courtesy of Kathie Lee Gifford.)
Aside from her most recent television gig alongside her friend Hoda Kotb, Gifford also got candid about another lasting friendship she made in the industry: her bond with former "Live!" co-host Regis Philbin.
Reflecting on the many years she spent on-air alongside the late TV icon, she said she looked forward to seeing his smiling face every morning.
"We had fun for 20 years -- 15 years working together, and then [afterward], we remained wonderful friends. [The experience] changed my life. We made broadcast history. We changed the landscape of daytime TV forever, for better or worse. And Regis became one of my closest, dearest friends, as has Hoda on “The Today Show.”'
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Her decision to depart "Live!" as well as "Today" comes from her life spent as an artist, she shared.
"Unless an artist is growing and creating and thriving on the vine, we die. We just die inside. And again, my joy was non-negotiable. I had movies to make, I had books to write. I had symphonic oratorios I wanted to film in Israel. And I just had big dreams that had never come to pass. And I knew I was running out of time for them, like everyone is," Gifford said.
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Fox News' Stephanie Nolasco contributed to this report.
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