Hoda Kotb was left red-faced during Thursday’s episode of Today with Hoda & Jenna after co-host Jenna Bush Hager told her to “free her boobs!”
Hoda, 59, suffered a wardrobe malfunction on the pre-taped July 4 episode, opting to wear a chic, sleeveless red dress for the occasion.
About five minutes into the show, mother of two Hoda was seen fiddling with the straps of her stylish garment, admitting, “My bra doesn’t work! The outfit doesn’t work, okay? The bra is too big, the straps are too small, it doesn’t work! I can’t do anything!”
The two women had been laughing when Jenna’s stomach made a “weird noise” a few minutes earlier, prompting her to ask, “But why did my stomach make your dress fall down?” Hoda admitted that a crew member had told her to “fix it.”
“You know when you know you’re wearing a dress that you really shouldn’t be wearing? Because it’s not right, but you know what, I just decided I’m going to do it. Have you ever gone to a party and thought, “It’s fine,” and then you spend the whole party pulling and pushing and stuffing… it’s not right! Either way, I feel like I’m falling apart!” Hoda laughed.
Hoda Kotb suffered a wardrobe malfunction on Thursday’s episode of Today with Hoda & Jenna
Jenna Bush Hager Ordered Hoda to ‘Free Her Boobs’ After She Admitted the Red Dress She Was Wearing ‘Didn’t Work’
Jenna, 42, then suggested, “You know what you should do? Next time, just take your bra off! Would you ever free your breasts? Free your breasts, Hoda! It’s time! At this point in your life, when you’re almost 60, free your breasts! Let’s free them! Because if you took your bra off, you wouldn’t have this problem!”
Hoda was shocked by this suggestion and screamed, “No, no, I can’t do that!” as Jenna quickly continued with the show.
However, when she realized that Hoda was still fiddling with her dress, the former First Daughter screamed, “You look great! Do you want me to ‘Bra off real quick? I can do it real quick, I can let it slide…’ but Hoda ordered her: ‘No!’
The TV host’s wardrobe malfunction comes just a day after she admitted her former co-host Kathie Lee Gifford “blindsided the audience” with her “breasts on display” when she first guest-starred on Today.
Kathie, 70, co-hosted the show with Hoda for 11 years, from 2008 to 2019, but during an appearance on Busy Philipps’ talk show Busy This Week, Hoda revealed how their collaboration really came to fruition all those years ago.
It started with Hoda asking Kathie to come on Today as a guest co-host because she was a big fan of her show.
Fortunately, Kathie agreed, and Hoda said of her very first appearance, “That woman showed up, hair extensions, breasts out, ready to play. She was amazing. She dazzled the audience, she did what she does.
“When it was over, the bosses came over, shook her hand, and from that moment on, Kathie Lee would be on the Today show. She changed the face of that part of morning TV.”
Mother of three Jenna didn’t leave it at that and even offered to take off Hoda’s bra for her
Hoda’s bra strap was visible as she refused to take it off and seemed disgusted by Jenna’s suggestion
Hoda co-hosted Today’s Fourth Hour with Kathie Lee Gifford from 2008 to 2019
Hoda even admitted that hosting Today with Kathie changed her perspective on her own television career.
“It was always like putting a circle in a square,” she explained. “I could feel it. It just wasn’t right, and when I sat with Kathie that very first time, I felt like I was riding a wave. I thought, ‘Oh my God, this is what it feels like when you do something you’re supposed to do.'”
The mother of two presented the program for eleven years, but in December 2018 she announced live on the radio that she would be quitting her role.
“I have something to share with everyone. It’s bittersweet as these things always are, but I’ve been here for almost 11 years. I thought I was going to stay another year. Something happened along the way and I fell in love with a beautiful Egyptian goddess and when it’s our 11th anniversary, I’m leaving the Today show,” she said.
“It’s an exciting time for me and I’m excited about the projects that are coming up, but it’s also hard. The reason I stayed for more than a year is because I like everyone here.
‘I’ve been in this business for 120 years and I’ve never worked with such a wonderful group of people who watch live television for four hours every day, five days a week.’
She continued: ‘We have fun, we laugh, we support each other and we know each other’s children’s names and we know when someone needs a colonoscopy.
“We live together, and none more so than my Hoda,” she added, before they both burst into tears.