‘Today Show’ Tensions Reportedly Brewing Between Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie, But Here’s the Truth

Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie seem to be great friends on The Today Show, which makes it very surprising that some reports say they are fighting behind the scenes. A source close to the production allegedly told reporters from The Globe that Kotb and Guthrie are on the outs. However, a follow-up report by Suggest indicates that this might be overblown.

The anonymous insider said that Kotb and Guthrie are “at each other’s throats as soon as the cameras stop rolling,” in spite of how friendly they appear to be on air. They said that Jenna Bush Hager is a catalyst for the fighting, saying: “Jenna claims to be Savannah’s best friend, but then whenever Savannah’s not there she’ll turn around and buddy up to Hoda and the two of them will take shots at Savannah.” They said that Hager does the same when she is alone with Guthrie, saying “she’s happy to join in and gripe about Hoda.”

“She’s totally two-faced. It’s so catty,” they went on. For example, this insider pointed out the time when Guthrie was out of work recovering from COVID-19. On the air, Hager and Kotb joked that Guthrie was actually just playing hooky and going to a spa. Guthrie supposedly took this quite personally. As the insider explained: “It was total mean girl behavior and typical of how Jenna operates. Jenna seems to get a thrill out of stirring the pot between these two.”

Still, Suggest casts doubt on The Globe‘s claims due to the latter outlet’s track record of unconfirmed or even disproven stories. The outlet reported that Kotb was becoming friendly with former anchor Matt Lauer earlier this year, which is unlikely and has not been backed up by any other reports since then. It also reported that Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford had a behind-the-scenes feud, which, again, can’t be verified.

The most damning example was a 2021 report that Gifford would return to The Today Show and replace Hager, which obviously never came to pass. Based on that, Suggest advises readers to ignore The Globe and designates it a “tabloid.”

The Today Show has certainly gone through some drastic changes in recent years, with many viewers getting invested in the hosts, their personal lives and their friendships both on and off the air. The show continues to air on weekdays from 7 a.m. ET to 10 a.m. ET on NBC.