It seems like some people woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager began Tuesday’s (Sept. 5) episode of Today With Hoda & Jenna in an especially good mood as they marked the start of September.
After urging their audience to start the new month on the right foot and “treat September like you did January,” the hosts had a public service announcement to share that their audience didn’t seem to agree with.
“We want to put out a PSA,” Bush Hager teased, to which Kotb added, “We think this is important.”
“This is very important,” Bush Hager continued, before sharing their announcement: “We can stretch summer into September.” September might be known for marking the start of the school year and the beginning of fall, but the Today co-hosts wanted to urge their audience to continue enjoying the summer for just a bit longer.
They paused for applause, but instead they were met with crickets and some booing from the audience, much to their surprise.
“Why would anyone boo [us]?” Kotb asked.
The co-hosts are known for sharing spiritual lifestyle advice regularly on the show, but it looks like their audience wasn’t exactly here for it this time.
“We want fall!” someone from the audience appeared to yell. “Yay, fall!”
Bush Hager tried to clear up the awkward moment by clarifying, “We’re not saying one or the other. It’s not quid pro quo. We’re saying, let summer slip into September. Fall will still be there.”
Kotb agreed, pointing to today’s unseasonably hot temperatures that are a result of an unusual heat wave hitting New York City this week. “Here’s the truth of it: We have to let summer linger, y’all,” she said. “First of all, it’s 90-something degrees [today].”
“I’m sweating like a hog,” Bush Hager admitted. “I’m wearing shorts and it’s the first day of school in the northeast.”
Kotb then asked someone off-screen when the first day of summer is, which turns out to be Sept. 23. “So we’re just following the calendar, we’re not trying to change it,” Kotb replied. “We’re just trying to follow the rules.”
Yikes, tough crowd.
Today with Jenna and Hoda airs on weekdays at 10 a.m. ET on NBC.