Yahoo Lifestyle Hoda Kotb’s Today Farewell Features Reunion With Kathie Lee Gifford, Tributes by Jamie Lee Curtis and Oprah Winfrey — Watch
It’s the end of an era at Today. The Jan. 10 broadcast marked the last for co-anchor Hoda Kotb, who Is departing NBC’s flagship morning news program after more than 17 years.
The celebration — or rather, “Hoda-bration” — began during Today’s 8 am hour, when Kotb was joined by Al Roker, Carson Daly, Craig Melvin and longtime co-anchor, Savannah Guthrie.
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“When we thought about how best to celebrate you, Hoda, and what you’ve meant to all of us, it was just really one word: Love,” Guthrie said. “You are love, and we love you. You’re all about it. We are so inspired by you every day.”
Following a clip package titled “Hoda’s Heart of Gold,” Kotb broke down in tears and thanked each one of her colleagues individually. She referred to Daly as the “secret sauce,” to Guthrie as her “person,” to Roker as her “first friend” at Today, and to Melvin, her successor, as someone who has “earned this.”
“I’m so happy for you,” she told him. “And come Monday at 7 am, I am going to be dead asleep.” After a few laughs, she added: “You are going to be fantastic. You’re going to be so good. You and Savannah are going to be magic.”
The anchors then surprised Kotb with a pair of pre-taped messages. The first came from Jamie Lee Curtis, who intended to be there in person to surprise Kotb, but returned home to Los Angeles to deal with the ongoing wildfires. The second came from former “Queen of Daytime” Oprah Winfrey, who recalled how difficult it was to step away from her long-running talk show.
“I know what making this decision feels like,” she said. “I know how challenging it is to come to the moment where you say, I have done it, I have done it, and now it’s time to move on to the next thing. And I will tell you that in the future, you’re going to look back and you’re going to say, ‘Was that the right decision? Did I do the right thing?’ And I will assure you that yes, you have made the right move, although it has been very hard to do, and I know that [your daughters] Haley and Hope are going to benefit so much from this decision — and whatever you decide to do in your next chapter, in the next adventure, it will be the best decision for you and for your family.”
Additional tributes aired throughout the broadcast, including messages from Kristin Chenoweth, Dwyane Wade and Kotb’s Dateline colleague, Keith Morrison. Longtime Today anchor Maria Shriver and Olympic gymnast Simone Biles were also on hand, as were Kotb’s daughters. The hour culminated in a surprise appearance by Kermit the Frog, who serenaded Kotb with the Muppets classic, “Rainbow Connection.”
Meanwhile, during the 10 am hour, Kotb received a surprise visit from former co-host Kathie Lee Gifford:
Kotb has worked at NBC News in various roles since 1998, when she began as a national correspondent and Dateline contributor. Her tenure at Today dates back to 2007, when she began co-anchoring the show’s fourth hour — first with Kathie Lee Gifford, then with Jenna Bush Hager. In November 2017, Kotb began filling in at the main anchor desk after Matt Lauer was fired in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations. She was later promoted to full-time co-anchor at the start of 2018; she and Guthrie have led the 7 to 9 am portion of the broadcast since then.
She announced in September that she would exit Today in the new year, citing a desire to spend more time with her family. Three months later, NBC revealed that Melvin would succeed Kotb as Guthrie’s co-anchor, beginning Monday, Jan. 13, while the fourth hour of Today would be retitled Today With Jenna & Friends and see Hager co-host alongside “guests and friends and family that are part of this DNA of this show.” Taraji P. Henson, Eva Longoria and Keke Palmer will join Hager the week of Jan. 13, while Scarlett Johansson will fill in the week of Jan. 20.
Hager, meanwhile, will take over signature segment “Hoda’s Morning Boost,” which will now be titled — you guessed it — “Jenna’s Morning Boost.”
Will you miss seeing Hoda Kotb every morning on NBC’s Today? TVLine will add video as it becomes available. In the meantime, weigh in on her touching sendoff below.
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