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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 to our show and I want her to host her again,” Kotb. said on “Today with Hoda and Jenna” Tuesday.
Kotb’s co-host Jenna Bush Hager, who had taken the day off last Thursday when Rowland was due to fill in for her, agreed that the singer is “welcome anytime” and added: “She’s the best.”
“Of course it is, of course it is! She can share my dressing room. We will be in this together! Kotb, 59, said as she laughed, referring to Page Six’s exclusive story about Rowland, 43, that she was unhappy with her backstage room.
“But anyway, I just want to say that we love her. “We have 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 they both begged him to “please host with us” someday.
Rowland’s absence left Kotb and the rest of the “Today” show team scrambling to find a co-host, but luckily, Rita Ora –– who was scheduled to appear in an interview promoting the new season of “The Masked Singer” –– he intervened. for the former Destiny’s Child member.
“On another note, we also want to thank Rita Ora, who came in at the last second and really did a phenomenal job, so we have great women on this show,” Kotb said Tuesday.
Bush Hager also applauded Kotb for handling the ordeal with grace and joked that he “won’t take a day off until 2026.”
“I was going to 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 warned she would be taking the spot a few minutes before airtime.
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Shortly after the show, Page Six broke the news that Rowland had left the “Today” show after appearing briefly at 8 a.m. because the dressing rooms were not up to par.
“Kelly and his team were not happy. They didn’t like the dressing room, so they decided to remove her from the show, leaving (Kotb) without a guest host during the 10 a.m. hours,” a source told us.
We heard the “Say My Name” singer play a game of “musical dressing rooms” at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
A source added that the whole thing “made no sense” because Rowland is “beloved on ‘Today’.”
Rowland has yet to publicly address the incident, while Ora confirmed Page Six’s report and gushed about how everyone was “so lovely and kind.”