Kelly Rowland Invited Back on 'Today' After Controversy

Hoda Kotb is determined for Kelly Rowland to have a Today appearance part two after an awkward interview with Savannah Guthrie – and behind-the-scenes drama – soured her February 16 experience.

During the Tuesday, February 20, segment of Today with Hoda & Jenna, the longtime host, 59, extended an invitation to the Destiny’s Child alum and said that she is “welcome any time” at Studio 1A and beyond.

“I just wanna say this, I have great love and admiration for Kelly Rowland. I adore her,” Hoda said of the famed singer, 43. “And I want her to come back on our show, and I want her to host again. She can share my dressing room — we’ll be in it together!” she continued.

Hoda’s words came just five days after Kelly walked off the set of the NBC morning show before she was scheduled to cohost the fourth hour of Today alongside her, with an insider telling People at the time that Kelly “didn’t like her dressing room.” The snafu resulted in Rita Ora – who was performing on the show that day – stepping in to cohost at the last minute.

“On another note too, we just want to give a shoutout to Rita Ora, who kind of came in at the last second and really did a phenomenal job,” Hoda further said of the awkward turn of events.

Kelly’s departure followed an 8 a.m. hour of Today interview with Savannah, 52, in which she was set to discuss her new Netflix movie, Mea Culpa, which she stars in and worked on as a producer. After showing Kelly footage of her performing on stage and awkwardly discussing the passing of time, Savannah turned her attention to Kelly’s former bandmate Beyoncé.

“What do you think about your friend Beyoncé? She’s like your sister, you guys literally grew up together – she’s stepping into country,” Savannah said, referring to the songstress’ new country music singles.

“I’m so proud of her,” Kelly responded, but Savannah kept asking about the hitmaker. “I know, but were you surprised and what do you think about it?” the author asked, with Kelly reiterating, “I’m so proud of her. So happy for her.”

Fans quickly took to the comment section of Today’s YouTube channel to call out Savannah for the line of questioning, with one writing, “Nobody asks Kelly about Michelle or asks Beyoncé about Kelly. So stop with the silliness folks.” Yet another pointed to the Destiny’s Child alum seemingly being tired of people asking her about the hitmaker.

Neither Kelly or Savannah have spoken publicly about the day’s events as of publication, and Savannah missed multiple days of work in the aftermath.