A lot of Today fans are still processing the news that the upcoming 2025 TV schedule will mean the end of being able to watch Hoda Kotb every weekday morning. The bubbly anchor surprised and saddened many in late September when she announced her decision to move on from the NBC morning show, but that doesn’t mean her remaining time on air has been without fun. In fact, I love how her co-host Jenna Bush Hager has been trolling Kotb about her potential replacement, and their CBS competitor Gayle King plays a part.
How Has Jenna Bush Hager Trolled Hoda Kotb Before Her Today Exit?
As you might imagine, while we are all supportive of Hoda Kotb’s choice to leave her full time job with her NBC family after a whopping 26 years because she wants to spend more time with her two young daughters, it still has her fans and colleagues in their feels. A recent installment of Today with Hoda & Jenna saw Jenna Bush Hager deal with her “abandonment issues” by not so gently suggesting that their CBS Mornings competition, Gayle King, take over for Kotb. And, you just gotta love this live-on-air trolling (via People), after Bush Hager noted that King was her “bestie”:
- Bush Hager: There's a seat open.
- Kotb: My seat isn't even cold yet!
- Bush Hager: I know you have a job over at 60 Minutes and such, but Gayle & Jenna has a beautiful ring to it. I'm just kidding.
Wow! You know what? I totally don’t think she’s kidding! While it’s somewhat unlikely at this point that King will make a sudden jump to NBC for Kotb’s January 10 exit, I do love that her co-host is already thinking ahead as a way to soothe any lingering frustrations over Kotb’s decision to leave us…I mean, spend more time with her kids. Right.
While Craig Melvin (whose choice of celebratory beverage disgusted his colleagues) has already been announced to take over Kotb’s anchor position on January 13, the hour she co-hosted with Bush Hager will soon be known as Today with Jenna and Friends. As the duo talked to SNL star/Is It Cake host Mikey Day, the newer of the Today hosts kept trolling Kotb, leading to this delightful exchange:
- Bush Hager: Do you like Shaboozey? Gayle King loves Shaboozey.
- Kotb: Why do you? Do you hear what she’s trying to do? She’s shading me. She brings up Gayle King 10 times during our show.
- Bush Hager: Today, that’s the anger I have. I have abandonment issues with her leaving, so today, Gayle King is the way I’m dealing with those.
I’m glad that she’s found a way to deal with her abandonment issues. Now, the rest of us just need to find a way to deal with ours!