Hoda Kotb broke her silence in the middle reports Kelly Rowland She left her role as co-host of Today due to problems in the dressing room..
The 59-year-old host extended another invitation to the Destiny’s Child singer, 43, during Tuesday’s episode of Today with Hoda & Jenna, stating that she is always welcome on set.
‘I just want to say this: I have great love and admiration for Kelly Rowland. I adore her. And I want her to come back to our show and I want her to host again,” she explained.
“She can share my dressing room, we’ll be in it together!” the TV host joked.
Hoda’s co-host Jenna Bush Hager, who had scheduled a day off last Thursday when Kelly was expected to intervene, agreed, saying the star is “welcome anytime” because “she’s the best.”
Hoda Kotb has broken her silence amid reports that Kelly Rowland quit her gig as Today co-host over backstage issues.
The 59-year-old host extended another invitation to the Destiny’s Child singer, 43, during Tuesday’s episode of Today with Hoda & Jenna, stating that she is always welcome on set; Kelly arrives on Today on Thursday.
Hoda added, “I just want to say that we love her and have loved her on this show for many, many years.”
Jenna then recalled Kelly’s Today show debut and exclaimed, ‘Remember the first time she was a guest and we were both like, “Can she host?”
On Friday, it was reported that Kelly was unhappy with the dressing room she was offered, so she opted to leave the set at the last minute. Rita Ora stepped up to replace her.
“On the other hand, we want to congratulate Rita Ora, who came in at the last second and really did a phenomenal job,” Hoda concluded on Tuesday’s episode.
The backlash comes after Bethenny Frankel, who previously co-hosted Today, dragged Kelly while addressing the drama in a now deleted text Tik Tok video he shared on Friday.
While she admitted the makeup area was small and the food service left a lot to be desired, the Skinny Girl mogul, 53, insisted it was time to be “polite.”
“It’s an entertainment institution,” Bethenny said of the iconic morning show. “And it’s an honor to be there and sit with Hoda. [Kotb]’.
“This was not the time for diva expectations,” she added.
‘I just want to say this: I have great love and admiration for Kelly Rowland. I adore her. And I want her to come back on our show and I want her to host her again,” she explained.
Hoda’s former co-host Jenna Bush Hager, who had scheduled a day off last Thursday when Kelly was expected to intervene, agreed, saying the star is “welcome anytime” because “she’s the best.”
“She can share my dressing room, we’ll be in it together!” she joked the star, following reports that Kelly quit the guest-hosting job, expressing her dissatisfaction with the Today backstage.
In July 2023, Bethenny sat across from Hoda on the set of Today as a stand-in for mainstay Jenna Bush Hager.
Bethenny’s harsh words come after Rita revealed she was asked to step in as a last-minute guest host on Thursday’s Today show.
The British pop star, 33, fell in love with her. instagram on Friday to share a fun carousel of photos from her time on the morning show and admitted that everything came together at the last minute.
‘Well, this happened! We had two minutes to get ready,” she captioned the snaps.
‘Ahhh thank you @hodaandjenna for asking me to co-host the show… Everyone was so lovely and kind, I had so much fun doing it!! Love to everyone who tuned in, maybe we should do more??!!!’
Rita’s post comes hours after it was claimed that Kelly quit the guest hosting job, expressing dissatisfaction with the Today backstage.
The move by the 43-year-old singer, who has been in the promotional campaign for Tyler Perry’s new movie, Mea Culpa, left Today in trouble, according to sources from Page six on Friday.
DailyMail.com contacted representatives for Rowland and has yet to receive a response.
The backlash comes after Bethenny Frankel, who previously co-hosted Today, dragged Kelly while addressing the drama in a TikTok video she shared on Friday that has since been deleted; co-host with Hoda Kotb in July 2023
“It’s an entertainment institution,” Bethenny said of the iconic morning show. “And it’s an honor to be there and sit with Hoda. [Kotb] “This wasn’t the time for diva expectations,” Bethenny added.
Kelly appeared for an interview segment about her new project during Today’s 8am.
However, the publication reports that she was expected to fill in for Jenna Bush Hager for the fourth hour, as she would be guest hosting Today With Hoda & Jenna.
Insiders claim Kelly pulled out at the last minute due to her wardrobe not being “up to par” with TV host Hoda, 59, left “running to find a replacement.”
The source told the publication: ‘Kelly and his team were not happy. They didn’t like her dressing room, so they decided to remove her from the program, leaving her [Kotb] without a guest host during 10am.’
They told Page Six that the singer-turned-actress’s abrupt exit came as a bit of a surprise.
A source said: She is beloved on ‘Today’. She was getting the full hour and Hoda is the most over the top woman on the planet! It did not make sense.’
Insiders told the publication that Rowland along with his team played a game of “musical dressing room.”
Her entourage is said to have asked about the green room upstairs because “they didn’t like the one she was in.”
Rita Ora revealed she was asked to step in as a last-minute guest presenter on Thursday’s Today show.
‘Ahhh thank you @hodaandjenna for asking me to co-host the show… Everyone was so lovely and kind, I had so much fun doing it!! Love to everyone who tuned in, maybe we should do more??!!!’
However, Jennifer Lopez was occupying the room at the time, having arrived there earlier to promote her new album and movie This Is Me… Now.
Page Six also reports that Today’s locker rooms are notoriously known as some of the smallest in the industry, with one source telling them they’re practically “glorified closets.”
The source said: ‘They are not nice. It is the oldest building. There are significant space limitations, [it’s] not glamorous. It’s not fresh flowers, candles or gourmet food. It is basically [a] White box.’
Today’s stars Sheinelle Jones and Dylan Dreyer already showed off their dressing rooms in 2021 and they didn’t look pretty.
Insiders claim the chat show’s producers had offered the star several other options, including talent dressing rooms and larger makeup and hair areas.
They explained: ‘They didn’t want that. [The show] They basically offered everything they could, but they weren’t happy with it, so they walked and left.
Hoda was able to find a last-minute replacement in Rita Ora, who replaced Kelly and is said to have “happily” taken over a wardrobe that Kelly previously wore.
Rita’s post comes hours after it was claimed that Kelly quit the guest hosting job, expressing dissatisfaction with Today’s backstage; photographed in Thursday’s Today
Today stars Sheinelle Jones and Dylan Dreyer already showed off their dressing rooms in 2021 and they didn’t look pretty
Meanwhile, in Mea Culpa, Rowland plays a criminal defense attorney who takes on a case involving an artist (Trevante Rhodes) who murders his girlfriend.
Filming took place last March at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, with additional photography taking place in Chicago.
The film also stars Sean and Nick Sagar, RonReaco Lee, Shannon Thornton and Angela Robinson.
Rowland also served as a producer on the film alongside Perry, Areu and Angi Bones and the film is now streaming on Netflix.