Megyn Kelly criticized Hoda Kotb’s Today interview with Savannah Guthrie, insisting her former NBC News colleague “fell down on the job.”
“I don’t think [Hoda] was the woman for this interview,” Kelly, 55, complained on The Megyn Kelly Show on Thursday, March 26. “I believe NBC put her out there because they wanted to use this as a promotional vehicle. They wanted to project that Hoda and Savannah are friends and the Today show is a big family.”
This week, Savannah, 54, sat down with Kotb, 61, for her first TV interview since her 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie, went missing in Arizona in February. The interview included multiple moments where both Kotb and Savannah teared up as they discussed the Guthrie family’s agony over Nancy’s disappearance.
Kelly took issue with Kotb showing such emotion during an interview, suggesting that the former Today anchor’s tears may not have actually been genuine.
“If you notice, the producers kept Hoda’s mic turned up throughout the sit-down to catch her empathetic sounds and her active listening, which was actually a major distraction and very odd in the choice,” Kelly argued. “Normally, the network would turn down the interviewer’s mic — especially in an interview this big in which Savannah is giving very compelling answers.”
Kelly theorized that Today wanted to showcase Kotb’s raw emotions to further “an agenda” that NBC News is “one big, happy family.”
“Journalistically, it was an inappropriate choice because it served only as a distraction,” the former Fox News anchor insisted. “This interview was not about Hoda; it was about Savannah. And I’m sorry, but Hoda kept wiping away tears that weren’t there. This was acting on Hoda Kotb’s part. It was a distraction and an unnecessary one.”
Elsewhere in her commentary, Kelly accused Kotb of failing to meet basic journalistic standards by not scrutinizing Savannah’s answers.
“There were no follow-ups — none — and, therefore, it was not journalistically sound. She did not ask even the most basic questions,” Kelly said. “At one point, Savannah revealed her sister and brother-in-law found the back door of Nancy’s house ‘propped open’ when they discovered she was missing. “
“The natural follow-up to that would be: ‘What do you mean by the back door was “propped open”?’ That’s it,” Kelly went on. “I am not talking about going for the jugular. Who, what, when, where and why are the ABCs of journalism and reporting. And the sins only got worse as the interview went along.”
She concluded, “I object to how it was handled. I am not trying to be petty. I am trying to be honest about what I saw there and what should have happened in an interview this big.”
Us Weekly has reached out to NBC News for a response.
Kelly previously worked with both Savannah and Kotb when she hosted Megyn Kelly Today on NBC from September 2017 to October 2018.
On the heels of this week’s bombshell Today interview, NBC News confirmed that Savannah will be back on the morning show alongside cohost Craig Melvin beginning Monday, April 6.
“When I look at the Today show, it’s the answer to all of my dreams, actually better than my dreams,” Savannah said. “It’s hard to imagine doing it because it’s such a place of joy and lightness. I can’t come back and try to be something that I’m not. But I can’t not come back because it’s my family. I think it’s part of my purpose right now. I want to smile, and when I do, it will be real. And my joy will be my protest. My joy will be my answer.”
Savannah has spent the past few months in Tucson, Arizona, following her mother Nancy’s disappearance on February 1. The search for Nancy is ongoing, with the Guthrie family offering $1 million for information leading to her return.
Last week, the Guthrie family asked for the Tucson community’s help in bringing their mother home. As of publication, no arrests have been made and no suspects have been publicly named.
“We cannot grieve; we can only ache and wonder,” the Guthries said in a statement to KVOA-TV News. “Our focus is solely on finding her and bringing her home. We want to celebrate her beautiful and courageous life but we cannot do that until she is brought to a final place of rest.”
They added, “Thank you for continuing to pray without ceasing.”
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