UPDATE, with Hoda & Jenna: Today gave departing co-host Hoda Kotb a sendoff with tributes and messages that ran throughout the first two hours, and even included the appearance of Kermit the Frog to sing “Rainbow Connection.”
And the tributes, goodbyes, hugs and tears – so many tears – continued on Today‘s “fourth hour” Today With Hoda & Jenna. Surprise guests Jimmy Fallon, Gayle King and Kathie Lee Gifford joined cohost Jenna Bush Hager to express their best wishes and, yes, prompt even more tears. Country singer Walker Hayes serenaded Kotb with a song the two had cowritten called “Wednesdays,” the lyrics expressing gratitude for each day. “If you love your Wednesdays,” Kotb explained, “you’ll love your life.”
Kotb also read a letter she’d written for the audience and viewers. “This is not a goodbye letter,” Kotb read. “This is a love letter, a love letter to you. It’s actually kind of a thank you note as well. So how do I say it? How do I say thank you for more hugs and more love than one person deserves.”
Kotb announced last year that she was stepping down as co-host of the show. She has been teamed with Savannah Guthrie since 2018, the first all-female anchor team in network morning TV. Craig Melvin will succeed Kotb. A revolving roster of cohosts will join the newly retitled fourth hour Jenna & Friends beginning Monday.
“I know what this decision feels like,” Oprah Winfrey said in a taped message to Kotb aired during the first hours of Today. “You have made the right move even though it is hard to do.”
Also during the first hours of the show today, Kotb’s daughter joined her for the surprise Muppet appearance, with Kermit appearing from behind the couch as Today‘s lineup of anchors and contributors surrounded for the song.
Making appearances were Simone Biles and Maria Shriver, as well as Jamie Lee Curtis. Curtis was to appear in studio, but could not make it because of the California wildfires. She gave Kotb a orb she made that read, “Every today with you is a better day.”
Throughout this morning’s broadcast, Kotb and Guthrie teared up through what was billed as a “Hoda-bration.” At one moment during the show, she took Kotb outside their Rockefeller Center studio where crew members were lined up to say goodbye.
Kotb thanked staffers repeatedly, but also quipped, “Come Monday at 7 o’clock I am going to be dead asleep.”
The Hoda-bration continued on Hoda & Jenna during the fourth hour, with lots of clips, praise and good wishes expressed. The episode ended on the streets of New York outside the studio, with Kotb driving off in her white minivan, daughters Haley and Hope in the back seat and tin cans tied to the bumper, wedding-style. A sign on the car’s trunk read, “Just Repotted.”
Kotb joined NBC News in 1998 as a correspondent for Dateline and joined Today in 2007. When she announced her departure in September, she said that she planned to remain at the network.
Last year, Today overtook ABC News’ Good Morning America in total viewers, while also beating GMA in the key 25-54 demo.
