Savannah Guthrie Returns to ‘Today’ After Interview Controversy With Guest Kelly Rowland

Savannah Guthrie returned to Today with a mission on Tuesday, February 20. The longtime talk show host promoted her new book, Mostly What God Does, days after her latest TV controversy.

Savannah, 52, sat alongside Hoda Kotb at the news desk at the top of the broadcast. Sheinelle Jones joined them later on in the hour to deliver the morning’s biggest headlines. Craig Melvin was still noticeably absent from the show.

It was a big morning for Savannah, as Mostly What God Does was finally made available for purchase online and in stores. During a behind the scenes moment from the episode, the broadcaster hopped on Instagram to express her excitement over the book’s release and point out one “funny” thing.

“So, the audiobook is available today. However, when I recorded it back in December, I had a terrible cold and so when I heard it a couple of weeks ago, I was like, ‘Maybe I should just redo the whole thing.’ So, I did. I rerecorded the whole audiobook, which took a long time actually. But it won’t be ready for download or another week or so,” she told her followers.

Hoda, 59, popped into the video to say that it “took a lot of convincing” to get her costar to publish some of the personal essays in the book. Savannah ended up giving Hoda a special acknowledgment in the back of the book for all of her help and support during the writing process.

Savannah was absent from Today on February 16, as well as Monday, February 19, to travel to stops on her ongoing book tour. Her absence from the program came just after she made waves for her interview with Kelly Rowland during a February 15 episode.

During the segment with Kelly, 43, Savannah pried the Destiny’s Child alum for comments on former bandmate Beyoncé’s new country album.

“What do you think about your friend Beyoncé?” the legal analyst asked Kelly. “She’s like your sister, you guys literally grew up together — she’s stepping into country.”

Kelly responded, “I’m so proud of her.” The brief response prompted Savannah to try and divulge more information.

“I know, but were you surprised and what do you think about it?” she continued. Once again, Kelly replied, “I’m so proud of her. So happy for her.”

Many viewers took issue with the interview, as Kelly was on Today to promote her new Netflix film, Mea Culpa.

“Very disrespectful to ask as accomplished entertainer as @KELLYROWLAND about Beyoncé every freaking time she comes on your show,” one fan wrote on X after the interview. “You didn’t ask J-Lo about Puffy or A-Rod or In Living Color.”