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NY Post
Decider
22 May 2024


NextImg:Jenna Bush Hager tells Hoda Kotb she "missed" her after Willie Geist replaced her on 'Today': "It's not exactly the same"

Willie Geist did a great job filling in for Hoda Kotb during Tuesday’s (May 21) broadcast of Today With Hoda & Jenna, but Jenna Bush Hager was glad to have her co-host back on Wednesday.

“I’m so glad you’re home!” Bush Hager said at the top of the show.

Kotb praised Geist, who is also an anchor on MSNBC and Sunday TODAY. “I’m so glad that you had a fun time with Willie, Willie is a trip,” she said.

While Bush Hager agreed, she added, “But I also missed you, nobody stands in nicely for you.” She then debriefed Kotb on the shenanigans she missed on Today, which included Bush Hager and Geist feasting on some Red Lobster cheddar biscuits and shrimp amid the news that the restaurant chain will be filing for bankruptcy and closing several locations.

“I’m sorry we did it without you but we said goodbye to Red Lobster,” she told her co-host. “We ate some biscuits and some all-you-can-eat shrimp and, you know, it just wasn’t the same without you. All-you-can-eat shrimp at 10:01, it works with Willie, but it’s not exactly the same as with you.”

A representative for Today confirmed to DECIDER that Kotb was away on assignment Tuesday.

Geist proved to be an entertaining replacement for Kotb, as it wasn’t his first time filling in for the Today With Hoda & Jenna anchor. During the broadcast, he and Bush Hager looked back on the time he roped her into taking a “huge, warm shot” with him at a charity auction.

“I had to work Sunday morning and they did not care,” he said of the experience.

Later on, the pair shared a platter of food from Red Lobster as they bid farewell to the restaurant chain.

“This is why we can’t have nice things, America!” he exclaimed.

As fun as he was, it’s good to have Kotb back on air.

Today with Hoda & Jenna airs on weekdays at 10/9c on NBC.