Hoda Kotb Gets an Unexpected Shoutout in ‘Harley Quinn’ Season 3

We here at PopCulture.com always love when some of our readers’ favorite celebrities cross over with shows we personally love. Case and point, Hoda Kotb, the beloved Today personality, just got a random shoutout on one of our favorite streaming series as of late, Harley Quinn. Harley Quinn is based on the titular DC Comics character, and it’s a pretty raunchy adult animated sitcom. It’s currently in its third season on HBO Max, with a new episode dropping each week. When Season 3, Episode 2, dropped on July 28, Kotb fans were treated to a remarkably random reference to the talk show host.

In the installment, titled “There’s No Ivy in Team,” Harley Quinn (Kaley Cuoco) and Poison Ivy (Lake Bell) have reunited with their supervillain friends back in Gotham after an explosive honeymoon. In one of the first scenes, we see the group hanging out in their lair, where Clayface (Alan Tudyk) is sipping tea and reading a magazine titled Baller Houses. He’s apparently reading about Kotb’s stellar home organization and is so “gagged” that he has to declare his enthusiasm out loud.

“Hoda Kotb, your pantry is beyond organized,” Clayface says. “An oatmeal shelf, I am gagged!”

It’s an odd call-out but Tudyk’s delightful delivery, paired with the Harley Quinn writers’ characterization of him over the years just makes it a fun moment. From there, King Shark (Ron Funches) gives his friends an update on his growing lemon tree, before Harley and Ivy come in to inject some far less mild-mannered shenanigans into the team’s day. 

Kotb and the geek world don’t collide too often, but it seems to be funny when they do. As reported by our sister site ComicBook.com back in 2019, Kotb went somewhat viral when she had to provide some Dragon Ball commentary at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. She mispronounced the birth name of Goku, “Kakarot,” in an NSFW fashion. Laughter ensued on the broadcast, and Dragon Ball fans online followed suit.

Kotb can be seen each weekday morning on NBC’s Today, also known as The Today Show. She and Jenna Bush Hager helm the daytime show’s fourth hour, sometimes distinctly called Today with Hoda & Jenna. All episodes of Harley Quinn are streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes premiering each Thursday.