Hoda Kotb had quite an influence on her Today costars before leaving the show in January after more than a decade as a host. Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin sat down with Andy Cohen on his Sirius XM radio show on Tuesday, February 4, to talk about just how much their former colleague impacted them.
“Hoda’s one of these people. She would come in on a Monday, and she’d be like, ‘Have you heard the Shaboozey song?’ and she’s like playing it nonstop, and like, next thing you know, you’re listening to Shaboozey,” Craig, 45, explained.
“And she moved out to the suburbs, and she was recruiting actively, like everyone move out there just to be where she was,” he continued.
“And she’s like, ‘This is the best thing; come.’ And so she comes in … it was like a Thursday …” he trailed off before Savannah, 53, chimed in to say, “She would be an amazing cult leader.”
“The best,” Craig agreed.
“Whatever it is, it’s like you have to have the …” Savannah said, before Craig chimed in to say, “Right. Like for a while, we were all going to her acupuncturist.”
“Oh, we went to her acupuncturist,” Savannah added.
“Like literally six people,” Craig said about how many of his costars went to Hoda’s acupuncturist.
“Then we went to her shaman,” Savannah said. “Then we went to her fortune teller. Now we have to have a Toyota Sienna.”
The clip was posted on the radio station’s Instagram account, sparking a reaction from fans.
“Cult leader Hoda! Totally!” one person wrote, while another person penned, “Sign me up for the @hodakotb cult!”
“Share the acupuncturist please,” one person asked, while another said, “I am fully onboard with following Hods everywhere! She is such an inspiration!! So also are the both of you-Savannah and Craig! You’re doing really great together!”
Craig replaced Hoda after she officially left Today on January 10, becoming Savannah’s early morning coanchor. Hoda has already started working on other projects after leaving Today. She teased an upcoming project with Joanna Gaines by sharing some photos online from behind the scenes.
In a post on her Instagram page on Wednesday, February 5, Hoda, 60, wrote that she has “something fun cooking” with Joanna, 46, and is inviting fans on the “great adventure.” It appears a camera crew was there to document whatever Hoda and Joanna were working on together.
Hoda, who moved into a new home in the suburbs last year, is also still slated to work on NBC in a different role after departing Today. She explained her new gig after signing a new contract with the network.
“I want to be a supporting character on a team that is already in place so that I’ll come in and just have a role there. And then I’m going to do my ‘Making Space’ podcast, which I enjoy and love so much,” she told Page Six in a January 9 interview. “And for the Today show, I think we talked about doing something every four to six weeks, just a little something.”
