HODA Kotb has revealed that bosses were “against” hiring her to present Today many years ago.
On Thursday’s live broadcast of TODAY with Hoda & Jenna, the 58-year-old TV star was celebrating 25 years at NBC.
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Hoda Kotb has revealed that bosses were ‘against’ hiring her to present Today many years agoCredit: NBC
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On Thursday’s live broadcast of TODAY with Hoda & Jenna, the 58-year-old TV star was celebrating 25 years at NBCCredit: NBC
Hoda looked lovely in a purple midi-dress as she sat down with her co-host Jenna Bush Hager to discuss her career.
At one point, Hoda opened up about trying to fit in when she first joined the network back in April 1998.
“I think if you’ve ever been one of those people who has been put in a box, and I was because I only ever covered hard news,” she began.
“And so when the more lighter fare came up like this show, the bosses were very sort of, early on, against me getting it.
“They were just like, ‘not her, she’s boring, don’t pick her, you can try other people, but not her,'” Hoda admitted.
“And I had one person who fought for me, a person named Amy Rosenblum, who said to me, ‘I’m going to help you, I want you to be like the person you are in my office, not the boring one you are on TV, be the one I know!'”
“And I remember her saying that to me and me going, ‘Am I boring? Is that right?’ Because I was so busy trying to be right, trying not to mess up, trying to be perfect,” Hoda continued.
“But I didn’t realize that imperfections are actually what makes something work better,” she added.
Elsewhere in the chat with Jenna, Hoda reminisced about her early days in journalism.
She shared: “It’s been such a fun 25 years and I wondered why in any relationship you have, whether it’s a relationship with a friend or a boyfriend, or even in a job, you wonder how does it not feel like all those years?
“And I think it’s because it kept changing. Everything was changing, like I worked for Dateline for many years and loved it. When I first got hired I felt unworthy of that job.”
She continued: “I remember them saying: ‘Change your hair, change your clothes, change this change that.’ Nothing was right about me.
“I sort of felt like I was putting a circle in a square, trying to fit, you know how you do,” Hoda added.
CELEBRATING HODA
At the beginning of the segment, the Today stars spoke about Hoda’s 25th year with NBC News.
On Thursday, Hoda jokingly mentioned that her mother brought up the achievement in conversation.
She said: “I have to tell you. I was totally shocked!
“In fact, my mom texted me. She took a screengrab and said: ‘Oh wow! 25!”
Jenna, 41, added: “How amazing is that?”
Another milestone was also marked on Friday: the fourth anniversary of Hoda and Jenna coming together to host the third hour of Today.
To commemorate the occasion, the co-hosts shared a clip package of some of their favorite moments.
After the feature concluded, Jenna noticed a particular quirk in the montage.
“I’m kind of embarrassed how much we cry,” she said to her partner, as both, of course, fought back tears.
Hoda responded: “I think when there’s something that’s real, that you’re not pretending, it’s easy.”
Jenna tacked on: “It’s the best,” with Hoda echoing her saying: “This is the best.”
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Hoda admitted to her co-host Jenna Bush Hager that bosses initially thought she was too ‘boring’ to host a ‘lighter’ showCredit: NBC
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The 58-year-old also revealed that she was told to ‘change her hair and clothes’ for work many years agoCredit: Today show
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Hod officially joined NBC News in April 1998 as a correspondent for Dateline NBC and all NBC News platforms
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