What happened between Kelly Rowland and Hoda Kotb on the ‘Today’ show?

Despite being a family-friendly morning show, Today has had its fair share of eyebrow-raising moments. From always hilarious news bloopers to some truly cringe-inducing celebrity interviews (anyone remember the Brie Larson chair debacle?), co-host Hoda Kotb has overseen just about every awkward on-set moment you could imagine.

For a presenter who once co-hosted Today with Kathy Lee Gifford — and was promptly spoofed with multiple Saturday Night Live skits — you’d think Kotb had seen it all. Then, a celebrity like Kelly Rowland comes along and throws yet another spanner in the works, all while Kotb is presumably just trying to enjoy her morning coffee. So what exactly happened between Kotb and Rowland on Today, and what does a green room have to do with it?

What happened between Kelly Rowland and Hoda Kotb on the Today show?

Kelly Rowland appeared on the Today show on February 15, for an interview segment during the earlier portion of Thursday’s broadcast. Afterwards, the singer — who was on the show to promote her new Tyler Perry-directed Netflix movie Mea Culpa — was slated to fill in for Kotb’s co-host, Jenna Bush, for the final hour of the show. 

Then, in what will be remembered as the Great Dressing Room Debacle of ‘24, Rowland abruptly left the Today show set before she was supposed to fill in for Bush. It has been reported that the former Destiny’s Child member was dissatisfied with her dressing room, and had asked to use the upstairs green room instead. 

After being told that Jennifer Lopez — who was promoting her own movie, This Is Me…Now — was occupying the green room, Rowland stormed out of the Today studio, leaving Kotb co-hostless at the eleventh hour (soap operatic stuff). Thankfully, Rita Ora was on set during the debacle, and agreed to fill in for Bush at the last minute. 

“We had two minutes to prepare,” Ora wrote of her impromptu hosting gig on Instagram. “Love to everyone that tuned in.” While Rowland herself hasn’t directly addressed the fiasco — which likely has Ryan Murphy drafting his next season of Feud — she did appear days later on Sherri Shepherd’s show, and thanked the host for bringing “positive energy.” 

Kotb herself addressed the incident on the February 21 broadcast of Today. The host said she has “great love and admiration” for Rowland, and promised the singer that she is welcome to return to Today, or share Kotb’s dressing room, “any time”. Somewhere out there, Ryan Murphy is conceiving the next installment of his sprawling universe.