Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb are seemingly validating Kelly Rowland’s concerns about the Today show dressing rooms.
“We need a remodel. We need Extreme Makeover: Today Show Dressing Room Edition,” Guthrie, 52, joked to Entertainment Tonight on Wednesday, February 21. “We are in a historic studio, 1A. It’s the same studio that has been used for decades. It’s incredible and it’s iconic, but it’s old.”
She went on to say that those who enter the studio “get the good with the bad” when waiting in the dressing rooms.
“If you want history, sometimes you’re gonna have a few little chips of paint coming off the wall,” Guthrie, who said she hopes everyone feels like they’re receiving a “warm hug” as a Today show guest, continued. “We try to do our best.”
Guthrie’s comments came days after it was reported that Rowland, 43, abruptly left the Today show set after having an issue with the studio’s dressing room. After being interviewed by Guthrie earlier in the show, Rowland was set to fill in for Jenna Bush Hager as a cohost with Kotb, 59, for Today’s fourth hour. (Rita Ora took over for Rowland with only a moment’s notice.) There was other speculation that Guthrie bringing up Beyoncé several times during Rowland’s interview could have irritated Rowland.
“I was bummed. I love Kelly. We love Kelly,” Kotb admitted to ET on Wednesday. “She’s one of our all-time faves, and there’s no one who’s more gracious or graceful than Kelly … we’ve been texting back and forth and I gave her a call. I said, ‘Come on, girl. We’re waiting. We’ll do a re-do.’ So, hopefully we’ll do a re-do.”
When asked about the dressing rooms specifically, Kotb admitted that they’re “tiny” and a “work in progress.” However, the anchor explained that it adds to the show’s “charm.”
“If you’ve ever been backstage [on] Broadway and gone to one of those dressing rooms, you’re like in these tiny rooms for months and months,” Kotb continued. “That’s kind of what the Today show is like. You walk around and it’s such a beautiful place, but there’s tiny little spaces.”
News of Rowland’s apparent departure from the Today show set came on Friday, February 16. During the broadcast that morning, neither Kotb nor Ora, 33, mentioned the rumored dressing room debacle.
While Rowland hasn’t publicly addressed the scandal, her rep, Yvette Noel-Schure, shared a statement with ET on Tuesday, February 20.
“After 28 years of knowing her, Kelly Rowland remains one of the kindest, most amiable humans I have ever met and have had the blessing to represent,” she said.
