Megyn Kelly Welcomed By ‘Today’ Co-Host Who’s Ready To See Her ‘Wild Side’
A Today co-host is welcoming Megyn Kelly to NBC with open arms and is ready to see her “wild side.”
AOL Entertainment posted a video of Hoda Kotb addressing the changes at NBC. Kotb hosts Today’s fourth hour with Kathie Lee Gifford and will likely work closely with Megyn Kelly, who is expected to take over the 9 a.m. hour of Today this coming fall.
Kotb first says in the interview that she “loves” and “misses” Hall while calling her a “rock star.” She went on to share that she’s excited about Megyn’s morning plans at the studio, which haven’t been fully disclosed by NBC.
“I’m excited to get Megyn on the show. Come on, you know she’s got a wild side. It’s dark. It’s like Fifty Shades! It’s going to be exposed!”
Kotb is looking forward to putting Megyn through some “hazing” rituals.
“I’m gonna feed her wine until she passes out, OK? That’s the first order of business. Get her on our 10 o’clock hour and see how she reacts after three or four glasses. It’s our version of hazing!”
Hoda Kotb jokes about hazing Megyn Kelly — see what she said! https://t.co/Cfs8ntGivq pic.twitter.com/vQjGA2jZsf
— Us Weekly (@usweekly) February 8, 2017
With all of the tension rumored to be occurring in the NBC news department over the Today show hiring of Megyn Kelly, Hoda Kotb has a completely different take on it. What does she have to say about the various headlines published speculating about the Today shakeup since the arrival of Kelly? She claims not to let it affect how she feels.
“I guess when you know what’s real and you know what isn’t, who cares, right?”
Hoda and Kathie Lee are a fun pair who make the fourth hour of Today good entertainment for viewers.
Megyn Kelly has at least one anchor at NBC openly embracing her arrival at the network, and she won’t have a dull moment with Hoda!
Megyn will be hosting one hour of Today in addition to having a daytime program centering around discussion topics. She will also host a Sunday night news magazine to compete with CBS’ 60 Minutes. Kelly will also helm special news coverage and political events.
EXCLUSIVE: @hodakotb says she misses Tamron Hall, but she’s ready for Megyn Kelly’s “wild side.” https://t.co/oiR9zVY4IA pic.twitter.com/3bDTdRIo0c
— EntertainmentTonight (@etnow) February 8, 2017
The massive changes at NBC have echoed the prior scandals that have plagued the network when it came to the fallout involving Today co-host Ann Currie and Jane Pauley. Both anchors were shockingly let go. In Pauley’s case, it was an age factor, and the well-liked Curry was fired so Savannah Guthrie could host alongside Matt Lauer.
In the immediate aftermath of reports announcing that Al Roker and Tamron Hall are being replaced by Megyn Kelly, the National Association of Black Journalists summed it up as “whitewashing.”
Campaign U.S. had a portion of NABJ’s statement.
“Tamron Hall broke ground as the first black female ‘Today’ co-host and was enjoying ratings success alongside Al Roker during the show’s third hour of programming. NBC has been a leader for diversity in broadcasting, but recent reports that Hall and Roker will be replaced by former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly are being seen by industry professionals as whitewashing.”
The association blasted NBC, adding that Hall and Roker should be “praised, not punished” for the high ratings they earned the network.
NBC responded to NABJ in their own statement, asserting that the network “has a long and proven history as an industry leader in newsroom diversity.” They continued that they “will continue to engage in the running dialogue we’ve had for many years with the National Association of Black Journalists and other advocacy groups to advance those goals.”
[Featured Image by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Hollywood Reporter]
