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Natalie Morales Fired From ‘Today Show’? Sources told Page Six that Morales may soon leave the morning show for a position with Dateline. And it was not the host’s idea. “They’ll try to position this as a ‘promotion’ for Natalie — but make no mistake, she’s not happy,” an insider said.
Replacing the fired Natalie Morales, a supposed favorite of Matt Lauer’s, would be Hoda Kotb. But a spokesperson for NBC News insists Morales isn’t going anywhere.
“This sounds like someone is trying to stir up trouble after the Today win in the demo last week,” the rep said. “We’ve got great momentum, we love our team and Natalie is an important part of it.”
Indeed, Today did beat out its main rival, ABC’s Good Morning America, in the key adults 25-54 demo last week. It was Today’s biggest win in the demo since NBC’s Olympic coverage in February of last year.
Still, GMA has won the demo in 29 of the 31 weeks this season. And it has been the top-rated morning newscast in both the demo and total viewers for the past three years.
Between the Today ratings and the Brian Williams scandal, it’s been a tough year for NBC News. The morning show, in particular, has struggled since Lauer reportedly got former co-host Ann Curry fired back in 2012. So it wouldn’t be surprising for producers to consider a drastic change.
In fact, this is not the first time rumors have swirled about a possible shakeup. Lauer himself was almost replaced by Anderson Cooper in 2013. And last fall, a report said that both she and Willie Geist had been fired from Today and were already seeking other jobs. But NBC slammed this speculation.
“NBC’s Today has the best anchor team in morning television,” NBC News President Deborah Turness said at the time. “The entire Today show anchor team — Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker, Natalie Morales, Willie Geist, Carson Daly, Tamron Hall, Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb — are incredibly talented, valued and have our support. In response to the false rumors that have been circulated about our anchor team, NBC wants to be absolutely clear: The rumors are wrong — period. This is the team we are committed to. And this is the team that our viewers turn to in the morning.”
It later emerged that Today’s then-general-manager Jamie Horowitz first had the idea to fire Guthrie, Morales and Geist in an attempt to improve ratings. But both the cast and crew objected to this, and to the other changes suggested by Horowitz. So NBC instead fired him after just 10 weeks on the job. Lauer reportedly played a big role in Horowitz’s ouster, saving Morales’ job in the process. But it’s unclear if he will be able to help her this time.
Agencies/Canadajournal
If they replace Natalie with Hoda then they’ve really lost it.
Morales is the only one worth watching on that awful show
I agree Natalie and Willie are the strong ones on this show.
The host that needs to leave is the dinosaur and sour Matt Lauer. What a drag to the entire group. Savannah, Natalie, Willie and Al are a great team and make you smile in the AM. Matt is too pompous for morning television. If Natalie goes, so do I.
Natalie’s not dark enough for NBC.
Hoda Kotb is one of the most boring people on television. Why in the world would you push anyone out for her? Especially Natalie? Watching the Kathy Lee and Hoda show pales in comparison to watching paint dry. The woman’s name is Hoda. Hoda. Hoda. Hoda. Go ahead and give her her own show⦠Watching the ratings freefall will be more entertaining than just about anything. Hoda is not a star. She is Kathy Lee’s sidekick. Which is about like being the sidekick for a sack of potatoes.
If they fire Natalie Morales they will lose me as a viewer. I was furious when they fired Ann Curry and I should of stopped viewing. So, I hope they don’t make a horrible mistake by moving Hoda into the program. Leave her on that useless program with Kathy Lee.
If they replace Natalie Morales, guess who won’t be watching the Today show anymore – me. I love the Today show but have no qualms about watching some other morning program if this happens.
There are unconfirmed rumors that ML may have fathered one of NM’s children, but you probably know that already.
They don’t like Natalie because she isn’t as loud and brash as the rest of them !!!