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"Today" show co-host Hoda Kotb was celebrated with an hours-long send-off -- termed a "Hoda-bration" -- to mark her final episode hosting the flagship NBC morning show.
Naturally, the network had a lot in store to bid farewell to the veteran broadcaster as she ended her 17-year "Today" stint on Friday.
Kotb's former third-hour co-host Kathie Lee Gifford pulled a bait-and-switch and surprised her colleague with an in-studio appearance after claiming in a video tribute that she couldn't make it because she was tied up with other obligations in Tennessee. "Tonight Show" star Jimmy Fallon popped in to "Hoda & Jenna" to gift Kotb a framed piece of carpet from the 30 Rockefeller Center elevators. And journalists Maria Shriver and Gayle King -- the "CBS Mornings" host who is often mistaken for Kotb -- stopped by to celebrate the outgoing anchor.
Her mother also stopped by the studio, as did Kotb's daughters, Hope and Haley. Her daughters were joined by Kermit the Frog, who sang "Rainbow Connection" to Kotb. And country singer Walker Hayes sang a soulful version of "Wednesdays," which Kotb co-wrote, that closed out the episode. After being joined onstage by the entire "Today" show staff, Kotb drove off in her minivan with her kids.
The NBC star, 60, announced her exit in September and said she would be leaving to spend more time with her young children, whom she welcomed "late in life." She joined "Today" in 2008 alongside Gifford to co-host the lighthearted fourth hour. She and Savannah Guthrie stepped in to co-host the main program in 2018 after Matt Lauer was fired over what the network called inappropriate sexual behavior. In the late aughts, and before her tenure on "Today," she was a correspondent for "Dateline NBC" and NBC News.
The Emmy winner also co-hosted the fourth hour of the program with Jenna Bush Hager, who is set to begin hosting that hour solo on Monday. Craig Melvin, who has been among the co-hosts of the show, will now host the 7 a.m. hour beginning with Monday's broadcast.
Kotb confirmed Friday that she would remain with NBC despite stepping down as a "Today" host. She told NBC News that she will contribute stories to "Today," resume her podcast "Making Space With Hoda Kotb" and rejoin the morning program to cover the Olympics.
Guthrie, Hager, Melvin and fellow co-hosts Al Roker and Carson Daly were also among those on set for the send-off Friday, and tears fell in just about every segment. A star-studded video tribute featured NBA star Dwyane Wade, Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis, "Wicked" star Kristin Chenoweth, gymnast Simone Biles and Oprah Winfrey wishing Kotb well in her next chapter.
"Hoda's everyone's sister, and she's like a sister to me ... She's so special. It's almost beyond description," Guthrie said in a pretaped interview. " She's had challenges [such as battling breast cancer], and they made her stronger, increased her empathy and made her stronger 10,000-fold. People see looking across from them someone who cares. She loves people. She's the ultimate people person."
After the episode, Melvin took to Instagram to again pay tribute to his former colleague: "Hoda is the definition of compassion, love, and has been the heartbeat of @todayshow. I am so grateful to have you as a colleague and a close friend. Cheers to you. It's not goodbye. It's a see you later. I love you. Thank you." On air, Kotb told him he would be "fantastic" and had "earned this" post but that she planned to miss his first episode anchoring the 7 a.m. hour because she would be "dead asleep."
"This is not a goodbye letter. This is a love letter, a love letter to you," Kotb said in her final segment of "Hoda & Jenna," reading a prerecorded message she had written for the broadcast.
"It's actually kind of a thank-you note as well. So how do I say it? How do I say thank you for more hugs and more love than one person deserves?" she continued. "Sixteen years ago, I sat next to Kathie Lee, and she changed my life. She chose me. And truth be told, I was scared. I had never done anything like this before. I was a hard-news person, a 'Dateline' person, and then one day, she called me 'Hoda Woman.' I ripped off that news corset. We poured ourselves a glass of wine. And so it began."
"It went from 'Hoda Woman' to 'Hoda Mama' when Haley was born. I held Haley, and you held me. You supported me, the cards, the comments, the letters. I read them all, and then Hopey came too."
Kotb said "a new era started" when she and Hager teamed up in 2019. Their run together included "six unforgettable years of uncontrollable laughter and pure friendship" during which she fell in love with Hager's tears and her "vulnerable, lovable self."
"Along the way, you invited me into your lives, your triumphs, your special moments and your celebrations. Having a front-row seat to all of this truly helped shape who I am. Thank you so much for letting me be part of your journey," she continued as video of memorable moments with viewers played.
"I have become who I am on this hour of this show, and you are there with me every step of the way. So as I sit here today in my final moments, on this final day in this chapter of my career, I want to say thank you from the bottom of my very full heart for the ride of a lifetime. I love you."
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