Hoda Kotb recently opened up about how fellow journalist Al Roker reacted to the news of her exit from the Today show. Kotb announced her departure from the show in 2024, and her last working day was in January 2025. At that time, the anchor revealed that she decided to leave as she wanted to try new things in life.
Al Roker ‘hung up on’ Hoda Kotb after learning she was leaving Today
Former Today show anchor Hoda Kotb recently shared what Al Roker’s reaction was to her leaving the show. Kotb announced her departure from the Today show in 2024 and revealed in her new book, Jump and Find Joy: Embracing Change in Every Season of Life, that she shared the news with her co-workers personally.
When talking about Roker’s reaction to her exit, Kotb revealed that the 71-year-old had “hung up on her.” Kotb conveyed that she made the final call to Roker about her departure. Sharing Roker’s reaction, she wrote, “No surprise, Roker did something funny when I told him my news. He said, ‘OK, bye,’ and hung up. He hung up on me! I thought, well, he sure got over that fast. But about five minutes later, he called back. ‘I was just so shocked,’ he explained, ‘and I couldn’t process what you were saying.’” (via US Weekly)
Roker expressed his feelings regarding Kotb’s departure in September 2024 at the Food & Wine Classic in Charleston. According to People Magazine, he shared that he would surely miss his longtime co-worker but didn’t “feel any sadness.”
He said, “I’m just so thrilled for her.” Roker said that he “would feel much worse if she was leaving, but she’s just doing something else.” He further told the outlet that he respected and understood Kotb’s decision to leave to spend more time with her family.
