Meredith Vieira
Gossip

Jane Fonda may be ancient, but it looks like she could still use a good spanking and have her mouth washed out with soap!

The 70-year-old actress and political activist used a... um, vulgar word to describe a female body part on Thursday morning's Today show.

The word, which begins with C and rhymes with punt, later prompted a statement of apology from the program's co-host, Meredith Vieira.

See for yourself. Here's a highlight reel of Jane Fonda dropping the c-word and Meredith apologizing to the program's audience afterwards ...

Here's how it went down. Jane Fonda and The Vagina Monologues playwright, Eve Ensler, were having a Valentine's Day conversation with Vieira about the 15th anniversary of Ensler's best-known work - and the 10th anniversary of "V-Day," founded by Ensler to end violence against women and girls around the world.

That's when Jane Fonda let the "c-word" slip.

"We were talking about The Vagina Monologues and Jane Fonda inadvertently said a word from the play that you don't say on TV," Vieira said.

"It was a slip and obviously she apologizes, and so do we. We would do nothing to offend the audience. So please accept that apology."

We understand, Jane Fonda. Sometimes, the c-word just flies out before you can control yourself. Just like the way Britney Spears often gives us a hairless crotch shot by clubbing in no pants. Give it time and this will blow over.

You loved the use of their current and former talk shows in that headline. Admit it. Here at THG, we do more than report on Lindsay Lohan car crashes. We like to keep it interesting and diverse, which leads us to the (hot) image below:

In an unexpected showdown of sexy talk-show gods (and goddesses), Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira go head-to-head, holding huge portraits of themselves in suggestive beach poses. Ellen DeGeneres is also in this picture, but not holding a similar shot of herself. Which is okay. She looks a little too much like Owen Wilson for our taste.

It finally arrived. A week after Katie Couric debuted to mixed reviews on the CBS Evening News, her replacement greeted morning viewers on the Today show.

Yes, those who tuned their TVs to NBC yesterday before work glimpsed Meredith Vieira in the co-host chair. She seemed comfortable right away, remarking on how nice it was to be "sitting next to the cutest guy."

Of course, President Bush's crush, Matt Lauer, returned the compliment and said he hasn't been as excited to come to work since the day after former co-host Bryant Gumbel announced he was leaving.

Vieira then bonded with another member of the team, telling Al Roker she used to have a hamster named "Al." We guess that's flattering.

Overall, it was a relaxed performance. Similar to how Paris Hilton must feel every time she's bent over in front of a guy. It's like she's been there before.

There's one big debut remaining.

Rosie O'Donnell opened to strong numbers on The View.

Katie Couric made a major, Suri-inspired impression on the CBS Evening News.

Now, Meredith Vieira is preparing to make a splash when she first greets sleepy-eyed viewers on the Today show Wednesay.

While stating that she's yet to view O'Donnell on her former show, Vieira did say producers on Today made their "biggest mistake" when they asked her to bring some "personality" to the show.

Vieira and her soon-to-be, well-sculpted co-host, Matt Lauer, did a run-through yesterday of their show. Afterward, Meredith told reporters it would be a challenge for her to keep her famously sharp wit â€" which she could flex on The View with few repercussions â€" in check early in the mornings.

"I want to be careful I don't go out there and just go," said Vieira. "That mouth - I have to rein it in a little bit. On the other hand, they asked for personality. It was the biggest mistake they made."

Viera was gonna call Mel Gibson for lessons on how to rein in your mouth - but then realized what an awful idea that would be.

Despite leaving the show on her own accord, Meredith Vieira isn't going quietly. She had a few harsh words for The View in a recent interview with Time magazine.

Referring to the ABC gabfest as "hard to watch," and that she got "blasé" about it after nine years, Vieira even said the current version "sort of became a joke" after she left.

Wow. Meredith seems to have a higher impression of herself than Paris Hilton. Okay, sorry, that's not possible.

We can't wait to see what Barbara, Joy, Elisabeth and new panelist Rosie O'Donnell have to say about the comments when they return to the studio next week.

The new co-host of Today will be sitting next to hunk, Matt Lauer. She also said she hasn't watched her old show at all since she took off, except for the day after Star Jones announced she was "leaving." Even though the show has been garnering stellar ratings, Vieira says she thinks it's "very sad" what's happened to it.

"I'm proud of the work we did there, but it's not a good time in the history of the show," says Meredith. "It's hard to watch."

Vieira also complained about the hours of her new job, stating she's "not somebody who loves getting up at 4 in the morning." This, of course, makes her very different from the rest of the world.

It may not be a feud of Paris Hilton/Lindsay Lohan proportions, but you can feel the heat radiating off the images below.

Never before in the history of morning talk shows and network news telecasts has a rivalry been seen the likes of Katie Couric and Meredith Vieira. As the latter replaces the former on the Today show, only viewers can make the important decision:

Who would you prefer to wake up to?