Martin Short on Kathie Lee Gifford gaffe: "People make mistakes"

From left, Hoda Kotb, Kathie Lee Gifford and Martin Short appear on NBC News' "Today" show on May 29, 2012.

/ NBC

(CBS News) Martin Short appears to have forgiven Kathie Lee Gifford for her much-talked-about "Today" show blunder.

One day after Gifford mistakenly asked Short about his late wife on live TV - unaware that she died in 2010 after battling cancer - the actor continued to be gracious about the incident while promoting his film "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted."

"On live television, people make mistakes. There's no ill will intended," Short told E! News on Thursday. "It's nice to aspire to be kind of delicate."

Gifford apologized to the actor Wednesday, both on air and on Twitter, after being made aware of her mistake.

"I send my sincerest apologies to @MartinShort and his family," she tweeted. "He handled situation w/enormous grace and kindness and I'm so grateful."

[OnTheCrown]

Martin Short: Comedic Genius and Class Act.

[mari1963]

Why is there a Kathie Lee and Hoda hour anyway? It's unnecessary and stupid!

[erasmus111]

"It's unnecessary and stupid!"

I've been thinking the same thing about you.

[Jaylah54100]

I don't think I was really surprised by the way Martin handled the situation. He's always been a pretty classy guy. So it's also no surprise to me to see him be this gracious about it now.

What does bother me, however, is that I think that if people want to be considered "journalists", they need to at least familiarize themselves with a subject before they attempt to interview them. Even if they only want to be considered "celebrity journalists."

I know that there are only 24-hours in a day, but it does seem to me that Gifford probably has somebody on staff that could at least prepare a small note-card with the basics on a guest.

So what this tells me is that Gifford is so arrogant that she always figures she can just wing-it. I truly hope she learned something from this.

[curious2knownow]

Journalistic integrity is almost non-existent. Just look at most of the articles written by CBSNews.com.

[curious2knownow]

I am humbled by Short's tactful and gracious response to a mistake. I consider this situation to be an inspiring moment in my life. I can only hope that I could have responded in such a manner if I were in the same position.

[JaySatCBS]

Of course Kathy Lee apologized on twitter; she's a twit!