That's the line NBC is trying to pass off in the wake of ethics breaches regarding their morning show's $1 million deal for a Paris Hilton sit down. NBC News Communications senior VP Allison Gollust says the ink wasn't even drying: "There's nothing to pull the plug on because we never committed to this."

Refutes TMZ: "TMZ knows a producer was already assigned to the interview, which was supposed to air on Today. Multiple sources tell us that camera people and associate producers were told to be ready, and that the piece would be shot in L.A. and edited in New York."

Which, of course, doesn't necessarily mean the deal was finalized – NBC would have, of course, been making production decisions while the contract was hammered out – but this just stinks of a sad PR backtracking ploy. And fodder for The View.