'Thank you,' said Lauer, 53. 'I struggle because I have a bad back,' said Gervais.
Gervais also defended his Golden Globe award show hosting, which some say poked a sharp stick in the eye of Hollywood.
'If they saw my stand-up their heads would explode. I was poking fun at a group of people who pretend to be someone else all day, it wasn't a room full of wounded soldiers. These are Hollywood actors, I mean... really? I poked fun at you,' he said pointing to Matt Lauer.
'What did you do? You laughed.'