A number of At this time present hosts have come and gone from the NBC morning present through the years — each on good and dangerous phrases.
Hoda Kotb, for her half, stunned followers in September 2024 with information that she can be leaving At this time after practically 30 years at NBC. “I simply turned 60, and it was such a monumental second for me after I turned 60 years outdated as a result of I began fascinated with that decade, like, what does that decade imply? What does it maintain? What’s it gonna have for me?” she tearfully introduced on the time. “And I spotted that it was time for me to show the web page at 60 and to attempt one thing new.”
Kotb recalled how celebrating her sixtieth birthday on the present the month prior helped her notice it was time to step again from At this time. “I remembered standing exterior, taking a look at this lovely bunch of individuals with all these attractive indicators, and I assumed, ‘That is what the highest of the wave appears like for me,’ and I assumed, ‘It might’t get higher,’” she defined. “And [I] determined that is the best time for me to, form of, transfer on.
Moreover, Kotb mentioned desirous to spend extra time together with her daughters, Haley and Hope, whom she shares with ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman, performed an enormous position in her choice. “I used to be considering they deserve an even bigger piece of my time, the pie that I’ve. I really feel like we solely have a finite period of time,” she said. “And so, with all that being mentioned, that is the toughest factor on the planet.”
Scroll right down to see extra of the At this time present’s most dramatic host exits:
Deborah Norville
Norville changed longtime host Jane Pauley on At this time in 1990. After one 12 months on the sequence, she exited the present whereas on maternity depart because of criticism and a decline in scores.
“I used to be pushed out whereas on maternity depart, having simply given start to my first baby. It was personally devastating to, in lower than two years, go from ‘NBC’s fastest-rising star’ to a pariah in tv. It was terrible,” she recalled in a June 2012 column for The Hollywood Reporter. “However, simply as an earthquake forces you to test the inspiration of your private home, having my profession shatter compelled me to reevaluate every part.”
She continued: “The despair I battled pushed me to analyze the facility of the thoughts and led to my writing plenty of books grounded in constructive psychology, as I rebuilt my profession first at ABC Radio, then CBS Information and Inside Version.”
Norville has served because the anchor of Inside Version since 1995.
Katie Couric
Couric took over Norville’s internet hosting spot in 1991 and remained on At this time by means of 2006. She recalled her choice to go away the present in her 2021 memoir, Going There, writing, “By 2005, I used to be at a crossroads. I cherished the At this time present, however after 15 years, I used to be getting stressed. I longed to be revered for my journalistic chops, and though I’d executed many severe interviews within the morning, the enjoyable stuff, which I had a blast doing … [that] was what folks remembered. I felt just like the present was getting softer, the laborious information interviews getting shorter, the segments getting extra sensational.”
Couric went on to anchor CBS Night Information, turning into the primary solo girl to anchor a nightly information broadcast. She left the position after 5 years, telling At this time in October 2021 that she didn’t assume “the nation was prepared for a feminine anchor.” She added: “Possibly they weren’t simply prepared for me as a feminine anchor due to their perceptions of me. However I actually went there to say a girl can do that job with confidence and competence, and that’s actually what motivated my choice.”
Ann Curry
Curry, who served as Matt Lauer’s coanchor for one 12 months, unexpectedly introduced on-air in 2012 that she was leaving the present. On the time, rumors unfold that the community was not happy together with her lack of chemistry with Lauer, leading to decrease scores.
“I nonetheless don’t actually perceive,” Curry informed Elle of her At this time exit in a September 2020 interview. “I do know I did nothing improper. I do know I used to be good at my job. They are saying the place there’s smoke, there’s hearth. You may learn the tea leaves. However you recognize, I’m a fact-based reporter, so it’s laborious for me to go on the market, with one thing so near the vest. I don’t know. I don’t know.”
She continued: “The underside line is that it nonetheless hurts. It truthfully hurts actually deeply, as a result of I actually assume I did nothing improper. However regardless of the ache of it, which nonetheless lingers, I do know that I contributed to some folks struggling much less.”
Billy Bush
Us Weekly confirmed in October 2016 that Bush had been suspended from his position as a cohost of the third hour of At this time after a video was leaked that confirmed him making lewd feedback throughout a dialog with Donald Trump. He formally exited the sequence later that month after reaching a settlement with NBC.
“I’m deeply grateful for the conversations I’ve had with my daughters, and for the entire assist from household, mates and colleagues,” Bush informed Us in a press release on the time. “I stay up for what lies forward.” Bush has served because the host of Additional since 2019.
Tamron Corridor
Information broke in February 2017 that Corridor can be leaving NBC Information and MSNBC. The announcement got here shortly after it revealed that Megyn Kelly can be taking on the third hour of At this time, which Corridor cohosted with Al Roker.
“Tamron is an distinctive journalist, we valued and loved her work at At this time and MSNBC and hoped that she would resolve to remain. We’re upset that she has chosen to go away, however we want her all one of the best,” NBCUniversal mentioned in a press release on the time.
A supply solely informed Us that the community wasn’t “combating that arduous” to maintain Corridor forward of Kelly’s At this time entrance, noting that Kelly was seen as “extra helpful.” A second insider later informed Us that Corridor was blindsided by the switch-up and was solely informed “minutes earlier than going on-air” that Kelly was taking on her and Roker’s time slot.
Corridor moved on from At this time together with her eponymous discuss present in 2019.
Matt Lauer
Savannah Guthrie and Kotb shocked At this time viewers in November 2017 by saying Lauer had been fired from NBC on account of sexual misconduct allegations. On the time, Selection printed a report accusing the longtime anchor of sexually harassing a number of ladies. The allegations included sending a girl a intercourse toy, dropping his pants in entrance of one other and turning into offended with a girl for not participating in sexual relations with him, amongst different claims.
Lauer broke his silence on the scandal shortly after his firing. “There are not any phrases to specific my sorrow and remorse for the ache I’ve prompted others by phrases and actions. To the folks I’ve harm, I’m actually sorry,” Guthrie learn on-air in a press release on Lauer’s behalf.
His assertion continued: “Repairing the injury will take a variety of time and soul-searching and I’m dedicated to starting that effort. It’s now my full-time job.”
Kotb was named as Lauer’s substitute in 2018. NBCUniversal launched their findings from a monthslong investigation into Lauer’s actions that Could, revealing that community executives didn’t obtain any complaints about his habits previous to November 2017 when a girl, later revealed as Brooke Nevils, filed a grievance in opposition to Lauer. Per the report, Lauer admitted to participating in sexual exercise with the lady someday later.
In Ronan Farrow’s 2019 guide, Catch and Kill, Nevils accused Lauer of anally raping her in his resort room throughout the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Nevils claimed that she confided in former At this time host Meredith Vieira concerning the incident and was inspired to report it to human assets.
Lauer slammed the rape accusations in an October 2019 assertion to Us, calling Nevils’ claims “categorically false” and stating that their encounter was consensual. “However inside a 12 months she was reportedly out attempting to promote a guide. And it seems that she additionally sought a financial fee from NBC,” he added. “Now she is making outrageous and false accusations to assist promote a distinct guide and getting into the highlight to trigger as a lot injury as she will be able to.”
Hoda Kotb
Throughout her September 2024 departure announcement, Kotb shared that she would stay on the present till early 2025 and wouldn’t be fully parting methods with NBC. “She’s the individual that all people loves,” an NBC insider solely informed Us on the time. “She’s the identical off-camera as she is on-camera, and I believe that’s what’s the toughest factor as a result of that may’t be mentioned for everyone.”
Calling Kotb’s exit a “big blow” for the sequence, the supply famous that the TV character was “very targeted” on wellness for her subsequent profession steps. Kotb shared comparable feedback on an October 2024 episode of At this time With Hoda & Jenna, stating, “What I need to do is I need to dwell in wellness. I need to work in that area. I need to begin issues. I’ve received issues which can be percolating inside that I’m gonna, hopefully, have absolutely fashioned quickly.”
Shortly after Kotb shared her exit information, a September 2024 Puck report alleged that Kotb was leaving At this time after being requested to chop her over $20 million wage. Nonetheless, a supply near Kotb mentioned to Us in a press release that “wage performed no position in Hoda’s choice.”