The Notre Dame linebacker is set to have his very first televised interview on 'Katie', which will air this coming Thursday, January 24.
- Jan 21, 2013
AceShowbiz - Manti Te'o, the Notre Dame football linebacker, will have his first ever televised interview post-girlfriend-hoax with Katie Couric on her syndicated talk show "Katie". According to USA Today, the interview will air on Thursday, January 24.
The interview will also feature Te'o's parents, Brian and Ottilia. Couric will preview the anticipated interview during several ABC News programs such as "Good Morning America" and "Nightline".
Te'o stole public attention as he claimed that he had fallen victim to an elaborate "catfishing" hoax. The Notre Dame star admitted he was tricked into believing that he had an online girlfriend Lennay Kekua, whom he never met in person. The so-called girlfriend died of leukemia earlier this year, but it was later revealed that the girl never existed.
Last Friday, Te'o had an off-camera interview with ESPN's Jeremy Schaap, detailing that he had never taken part in the hoax. "I wasn't faking it," he insisted. Te'o told Schap that he wasn't sure about Kekua's existence until Wednesday, when someone named Ronaiah Tuiasosopo called the athlete to confess the hoax and apologize.
Katie Couric and her team defeated a number of other talk show hosts, including Oprah Winfrey, who wanted to interview Te'o. Winfrey herself recently interviewed other troubled athlete, Lance Armstrong, on "Oprah's Next Chapter" which was televised last Thursday and Friday on OWN.
