Yahoo Lifestyle 'Today' Host Is a Total 'Natural' Filling in For Kelly Clarkson Amid Her Prolonged Absence
Kelly Clarkson is still missing from her talk show, but fortunately, her latest fill-in host has won over The Kelly Clarkson Show audience.
On Wednesday, March 12, none other than Today's Willie Geist filled in for Clarkson, who has been absent from her eponymous talk show for almost a week now.
Fans warmed up to Geist as a guest host very quickly, with one user on Instagram calling him a "natural" at the gig.
"Welcome to The Kelly Clarkson Show! I'm very much not Kelly Clarkson and I'm sorry for that," Geist said while opening up the episode on Wednesday.
He went on to explain how much the hosting gig means to him, considering he's been dreaming about something like this for years.
Geist, who will be turning 50 in May, pulled out an old list of things he hoped to do before hitting the milestone birthday, quipping that one of his dreams was to "guest host a talk show normally hosted by the winner of a national singing competition."
"Oddly specific and predictive," he joked, while adding, "But now I get to cross that out."
After taking over for the American Idol winner in her absence, Clarkson's fans had plenty of love to show for Geist, including one user on Instagram who called him a "great host."
"Love you Willie," another fan gushed.
"You are a natural!" someone else added, before stating, "Hope Kelly is well and comes back soon.🤍"
Clarkson, 42, hasn't appeared on her show since Thursday, March 6, though she has yet to explain the reason for her absence. While she's been away, various stars have filled in to host her show, including Simu Liu and Brooke Shields.
Parade reached out to representatives for Clarkson regarding her absence but did not immediately hear back.
Next: Where's Kelly Clarkson? Fans Express Concern Following 'Worrisome' Absence From Talk Show
