Update, February 20: Following Kelly Rowland’s sudden departure from her guest-host gig at Today With Hoda and Jenna over a dressing-room snafu, host Hoda Kotb said she will always leave the door open for the star. “I just wanna say this: I have great love and admiration for Kelly Rowland,†Kotb said on the February 20 episode of Today, according to People. “I adore her. And I want her to come back on our show, and I want her to host again.†Regarding the issue with the tiny dressing room that reportedly led to Rowland walking off the set, well, Kotb has a way to solve that problem: “She can share my dressing room — we’ll be in it together!â€
Kotb also acknowledged the woman ready at a moment’s notice take the reins when drama unfolded. “On another note, too, we just want to give a shout-out to Rita Ora, who kind of came in at the last second and really did a phenomenal job.†The mess led Kotb and permanent co-host Jenna Bush Hager to say that the drama will keep them from requesting off. Hager is “sticking down the fort†and “won’t take a day off until 2026.†Kotb agreed. “That’s the last day off for months and months and months,†she promised.
Original story published February 15 follows.
Kelly Rowland walked off the set of the Today show on February 15, according to “Page Six.†She appeared on the show at 8 a.m. to talk about her role in Tyler Perry’s Mea Culpa, and was scheduled to fill in as a guest host at 10 a.m. on Today with Hoda & Jenna. But Rowland reportedly wasn’t thrilled with the dressing rooms in the old building, which do in fact have a reputation for being tiny. Rowland’s team is said to have asked about moving her to a green room upstairs that turned out to be occupied by Jennifer Lopez, who was there to promote her new album and accompanying film. Was it a diva-off situation where JLo said, “This is mine … now� It’s unclear. Sources told “Page Six†that Rowland abruptly decided to leave, and her representatives did not immediately respond to Vulture’s request for comment. Either way, Hoda Kotb had to recruit Rita Ora as a last-minute replacement. (“We had two minutes to prepare ahhh,†Ora indirectly confirmed on Instagram.) Now, does this mean Ora makes a habit of hanging around talk show sets in case someone backs out? We wish. It appears that she was already supposed to come on the show that day to talk about The Masked Singer, and made room in her schedule to stay. How much room did Today make for her?
This post has been updated.