Despite being a family-friendly morning show, Hoda Kotb has overseen just about every awkward on-set moment you could imagine.
For a presenter who once co-hosted Today with Kathy Lee Gifford — and was promptly spoofed with multiple Kelly Rowland comes along and throws yet another spanner in the works, all while Kotb is presumably just trying to enjoy her morning coffee. So what exactly happened between Kotb and Rowland on Today, and what does a green room have to do with it?
What happened between Kelly Rowland and Hoda Kotb on the Today show?
Kelly Rowland appeared on the Today show on February 15, for an interview segment during the earlier portion of Thursday’s broadcast. Afterwards, the singer — who was on the show to promote her new Mea Culpa — was slated to fill in for Kotb’s co-host, Jenna Bush, for the final hour of the show.
Then, in what will be ed as the Great Dressing Room Debacle of ‘24, Rowland abruptly left the Today show set before she was supposed to fill in for Bush. It has been reported that the former Destiny’s Child member was dissatisfied with her dressing room, and had asked to use the upstairs green room instead.
After being told that Jennifer Lopez — who was promoting her own movie, This Is Me…Now — was occupying the green room, Rowland stormed out of the Today studio, leaving Kotb co-hostless at the eleventh hour (soap operatic stuff). Thankfully, Rita Ora was on set during the debacle, and agreed to fill in for Bush at the last minute.
“We had two minutes to prepare,” Ora wrote of her impromptu hosting gig on Instagram. “Love to everyone that tuned in.” While Rowland herself hasn’t directly addressed the fiasco — which likely has Feud — she did appear days later on Sherri Shepherd’s show, and thanked the host for bringing “positive energy.”
Kotb herself addressed the incident on the February 21 broadcast of Today. The host said she has “great love and iration” for Rowland, and promised the singer that she is welcome to return to Today, or share Kotb’s dressing room, “any time”. Somewhere out there, Ryan Murphy is conceiving the next installment of his sprawling universe.
Published: Feb 20, 2024 05:48 pm