Tributes Pouring In Following Longtime 'TODAY' Show Host's Departure

Author:
Chris Rosvoglou
Sep 26, 2024 9:42 AM EDT

This Thursday's edition of the "TODAY" show was quite emotional for those on set and those watching from home.

Earlier this morning, Hoda Kotb announced that she's leaving "TODAY" after this year comes to an end. She has spent 26 years with NBC. It didn't take long for her to prove that she's one of the best hosts for the network.

Kotb isn't leaving the NBC family as a whole. She's just saying goodbye to "TODAY" so she can spend more time with her daughters.

"I realized that it was time for me to turn the page at 60, and to try something new," Kotb said. "I remembered standing outside looking at these beautiful bunch of people with these gorgeous signs, and I thought, 'This is what the top of the wave feels like for me.' And I thought it can't get better, and I decided that this is the right time for me to kind of move on.

"And then I thought about - obviously I had my kiddos late in life - I was thinking that they deserve a bigger piece of my time pie that I have. I feel like we only have a finite amount of time. And so, with all that being said, this is the hardest thing in the world because today I saw a picture on my phone of you guys holding my picture. I'm going to be here past the first of the year and I'm going to stay in the NBC family. But it's kind of a big deal for me. I've been practicing so I wouldn't cry, but anyway, I did."

Fans of Kotb are understandably emotional about this Thursday's announcement.

"Definitely shed a tear watching this. Hoda’s been a part of my mornings for so long," one person tweeted.

"This is a huge loss for TODAY," another person said. "Hoda is phenomenal and a true class act."

"There are a few national figures that I look up to in the broadcast industry, and Hoda is by far one of them," a third person tweeted.

"I am not OK," a fan said.