Hoda Kotb felt ‘anger’ when female executives at NBC were not recognized
Hoda Kotb
Nicholas Hunt/Getty ImagesIn celebration of International Women’s Day, Hoda Kotb shared a powerful story about breaking barriers at NBC.
“I remember a long time ago at NBC there was a table full of vice presidents sitting in a restaurant. It was a big NBC event,” Kotb, 59, began the Friday, March 8 episode Today with Hoda and Jenna. “And the waiter walked up to the table and said, ‘I’m sorry ladies, this is reserved for vice presidents.’ And they said, ‘We are vice presidents.’”
Looking back on the exchange, Kotb remembers “the anger there at that moment” because the executives felt “singled out.” She continued: “And that wasn’t that long ago. So when you think about the progress that women have made… it’s women who are behind it.”
Earlier in her International Women’s Day conversation with cohost Jenna Bush HagerKotb expressed confusion about why women are often not asked the same questions about their performance as men.
“I looked at this one woman, she was asked a question on the red carpet, and [she was asked], ‘What question are you tired of people asking you?’ … And she says, ‘About the fact that you’re a female director. I’m tired of it,” Kotb said. “And I thought about it, it’s the same thing [thing]. We can’t believe we’re asking the same kind of questions.”
Bush Hager, 42, noted that even Kotb must be getting tired of being asked about her Savannah Guthrie become the first woman Today show coaches. ‘And you say,'[I’m] host of the Today show. Let’s live in that,” she said.
However, Kotb acknowledged that it’s “cool” for their children to grow up knowing that it’s not “weird” for women to push boundaries. “But I just think it’s so crazy that we still have things like this nowadays[s] of conversations,” she added. (Kotb co-parents daughters Haley, 7, and Hope, 4, with ex Joel Schiffmanwhile Bush Hager shares children Mila, 10, Poppy, 8, and Hal, 4, with her husband, Henry Hager.)
Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager.
Nathan Congleton/NBCAfter Friday’s Today episode, Kotb attended a Q&A and book signing in New York City for her new children’s book, Hope is a rainbow, inspired by her youngest daughter. “Thanks to @sidjacobsonjcc for hosting and @stephruhle for moderation!” she captioned photos from the event via Instagram. “Thanks for the laughs and the tears #hopeisarainbow.”
Kotb recently broke her silence on Hope’s 2023 health scare, which led to the TV host’s absence Today for two weeks in February. When she returned to the NBC morning show, Kotb revealed that her daughter had spent several days in the intensive care unit, but did not reveal any details about Hope’s condition.
Hoda Kotb has often talked about how her loved ones shaped her life — especially her daughters, Haley and Hope. The Today anchor became a mother when she adopted her little ones in 2017 and 2019 respectively. Kotb celebrated the milestone with then-partner Joel Schiffman. The former couple started dating in 2013 and got […]
“We had a scary period,” she said People in an interview published on Wednesday, March 6. “Any parent who has experienced something scary with their child understands it. It’s like you just can’t believe your child is sick. You can’t believe you can’t do anything. You can’t believe that no matter what you do, you can’t take it away or protect her or all the things we’re supposed to do as parents. And it’s a position I’ve never been in before.”
Kotb noted that “things have stabilized” since Hope’s hospital stay and said she wants to keep life “normal” for her little one. “It’s really hard because I don’t want Hope to be labeled,” she said. “She is a child who is so lively, and most days everything is fine. I don’t want people to look at her differently.”