Hoda Kotb is shaking off Kelly Rowland leaving the “Today” show right before they were supposed to co-host the fourth hour last week.
“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 again,” Kotb said on “Today with Hoda & Jenna” Tuesday.
Kotb’s co-host, Jenna Bush Hager, who had taken the day off last Thursday when Rowland was set to fill in, agreed that the singer is “welcome anytime,” adding, “She’s the best.”
“Of course she is, of course she is! She can share my dressing room. We’ll be in it together!” Kotb, 59, said while laughing, referring to Pvnew’s exclusive story about Rowland, 43, being unhappy with her backstage quarters.
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“But anyway, I just want to say we love her. We’ve loved her on this show for many, many years,” Kotb continued.
Bush Hager, 42, then reflected on the first time the co-hosts had Rowland as a guest on their show when both of them begged her to “please host with us” one day.
Rowland’s absence left Kotb and the rest of the “Today” show team scrambling for a co-host, but luckily, Rita Ora –– who was scheduled to appear for an interview promoting the new season of “The Masked Singer” –– stepped in for the former Destiny’s Child member.
“On another note, too, we just wanna give a shout-out to Rita Ora, who kind of came in at the last second and really did a phenomenal job, so we have great women on this show,” Kotb gushed Tuesday.
Bush Hager also applauded Kotb for handling the ordeal with grace and joked she “won’t take a day off until 2026.”
“I was gonna say, you’re not allowed. That’s your last day off for months and months and months,” Kotb joked.
While co-hosting Thursday’s episode, Kotb and Ora, 33, raised eyebrows by repeatedly mentioning how the “For You” singer had only been alerted she would be filling in a few minutes prior to airtime.
Shortly after the show, Pvnew broke the news that Rowland had left the “Today” show after briefly appearing on the 8 a.m. hour because the dressing rooms were not up to par.
“Kelly and her team were not happy. They did not like the dressing room, so they decided to pull her off the show, leaving [Kotb] without a guest host for the 10 a.m. hour,” a source told us.
We heard the “Say My Name” singer played a game of “musical dressing rooms” at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
An insider added that the whole thing “made no sense” because Rowland is “beloved at ‘Today.'”
Rowland has yet to publicly address the incident, while Ora confirmed Pvnew’s report and gushed about how everyone was “so lovely and kind.”
