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Hoda Kotb Is Officially Over Megyn Kelly’s Diva Behavior
In September, Jane Fonda went on Megyn Kelly Today to promote her film Our Souls at Night. She wouldn’t make that mistake again. When it came time to plug the new season of her Netflix show, Grace and Frankie, with co-star Lily Tomlin on Jan. 16, she instead chose to be interviewed by the morning show’s 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. hosts, Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb. But Jane couldn’t resist bringing up the earlier interview by Megyn, who had inexplicably (and awkwardly) grilled her about her plastic surgery on live TV. After Lily joked about knowing Jane before her “first face-lift,” Jane quipped, “Who are you, Megyn Kelly?”
Hoda couldn’t hold back her laughter. Things have quickly soured between the veteran journalists, who are now at each other’s throats. The nasty feud has gotten so bad, Life & Style learned, that Hoda played a part in keeping Megyn out of NBC’s high-profile Winter Olympics coverage for February. “The atmosphere between the two is beyond frosty. They are staying as far away as possible from each other,” reveals an insider. “Hoda is not the kind of person who talks behind people’s backs, but there is plenty of eye rolling and she’s made comments about Megyn like, ‘I get more warmth from an iceberg.’”
Things went from bad to worse between the duo when Matt Lauer was fired. While everyone at the network agreed NBC took the appropriate action after the 60-year-old’s unacceptable behavior was brought to light, Hoda, 53, was disgusted by how Megyn, 47, handled the fallout. “As soon as Matt was let go, Megyn was ready to dance on his grave without taking into consideration that he was a long-time friend to many of her co-workers,” says an NBC source. “Of course it was necessary to report on the horrible things Matt had done, but Megyn seemed obsessed.”
However, when Hoda was named as her ousted pal’s permanent replacement on Jan. 2, it was Megyn’s turn to be livid. “Megyn felt she was NBC’s golden girl and had believed she’d waltz right into Matt’s anchor spot,” the insider tells Life & Style. It was Hoda’s warmth and chemistry with Savannah, 46, that won over bosses and audiences though.
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While Hoda won the battle for Matt’s position, Megyn is still outearning her — by a lot. Hoda’s reportedly making $7 million a year for hosting three hours of Today, compared to the $23 million Megyn makes annually. (She signed a three-year, $69 million deal.) “Hoda is taking the high road publicly when it comes to the enormous salary difference,” says the insider.
But she’s getting the last laugh now. “[Hoda] held some sway in the decision to leave Megyn off the roster for the Winter Olympics in South Korea,” the insider reveals. “Megyn’s pissed about not making the cut. She feels that working the games would have raised her TV profile immensely.”
And things are bound to get even tenser now that famous guests like Jane are choosing to come on when Hoda is hosting, not Megyn. “Megyn felt angry and betrayed by how Hoda laughed at Jane’s joke,” says the insider. “They remain cordial on-camera but barely speak to each other once they’ve stopped rolling. The war between Hoda and Megyn is at a crisis point.”
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