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Hoda Kotb Breaks Down in Tears During Jason Segel’s Moving Speech on ‘Today’ Ahead of Her Exit
Tears were flowing for Hoda Kotb during an emotional moment on Today. She sat down for a candid chat with guest Jason Segel, who had nothing but kind words for the broadcaster as she prepares to exit the talk show early next year.
“I’m going to miss you when you’re gone,” Jason, 44, told Hoda, 60, during a Wednesday, October 16 appearance on the show. “I just want you to know these interviews have been some of the best of my whole career so I’m really grateful to know you.”
The camera panned to the NBC personality, who had tears welling in her eyes as she listened to Jason’s sweet speech. “Wow … thanks,” Hoda replied, as she began to cry and could no longer hold it in.
At the end of the segment, Hoda and the Shrinking actor shared a warm embrace. Just one day prior, Hoda received another sweet compliment from another celebrity guest — Henry Winkler.
“Before I go any further, I want to say this,” the Happy Days alum told Hoda and Jenna Bush Hager during the appearance on Today on Tuesday, October 15. “I know that a lot of people have sat here. There are a lot of guests that come through this show that you have been doing for a long time. You two make each guest feel like they are the only guest.”
Henry then addressed Hoda directly, as she marks her final few months on Today before her official exit.
“And I just want to say on behalf of my wife, Stacey, and I, we are going to miss you, as America is going to miss you,” he told her. “Thank you for always making me welcome. The two of you have a chemistry that is going to be very difficult to fill. That is the truth.”
While the segment was very emotional, Jenna, 42, offered some comedic relief. “Well, if you want a job, there’s one opening up,” the former first daughter said to Henry.
“But I’m not kidding,” he said. “There you go. I love you very much. You have always made me feel wonderful.”
Hoda announced her Today departure on September 26 during an episode of Today after turning 60.
“I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60, and to try something new,” she said during the broadcast. “I remembered standing outside looking at these beautiful bunch of people with these gorgeous signs, and I thought, ‘This is what the top of the wave feels like for me.’ And I thought it can’t get better, and I decided that this is the right time for me to kind of move on.”
She also wrote a letter to staffers before the broadcast, expressing gratitude for making working on the show such a great experience.
“My time at NBC has been the longest professional love affair of my life. But only because you’ve been beside me on this twenty-six-year adventure,” the Hope Is a Rainbow author wrote in the letter. “Looking back, the math is nuts. 26 years at NBC News — 10 years at Dateline, seven on the 7 o’clock hour, 16 on the 10 o’clock hour. I’m picturing your faces and your families and all the ways you’ve lifted me up and inspired me. That’s my heart singing. So many of my professional relationships have become some of my most cherished friendships. Savannah: my rock. Jenna: my ride-or-die. Al: my longest friend at 30 Rock. Craig, Carson, Sheinelle and Dylan: my family. Libby, Mazz and Talia: my fearless leaders. I will miss each and every one of you at TODAY desperately.”
