Hoda Kotb Marks Her 'Last' Thanksgiving Day Parade Broadcast with Flowers from Cynthia Erivo: 'We Love You'

Cynthia Erivo gives Hoda Kotb her flowers.

On Thursday, November 28 Wicked the actress, 37, celebrated her long-term Today show the host’s last turkey day with NBC by giving her a bouquet of white flowers during the broadcast of the 2024 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

The TV personality, 60, announced his departure from Today after 17 years (and a total of 25 years working for NBC) in September. She celebrated Thanksgiving one last time on the show alongside longtime co-hosts Savannah Guthrie and Al Roker.

When Erivo appeared during the broadcast to discuss her new hit movie, she arrived with a special gift for Kotb.

Cynthia Erivo holds flowers in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 28.

NBC

Erivo told Kotb, “Before you even start, yes, these flowers are for you because I know this is the last Thanksgiving parade you’re participating in.”

The actress went on to tell an emotional Kotb, “I wanted to celebrate and I wanted to say we love you. Thank you for all the hard work you’ve done all these years.”

Cynthia Erivo, Al Roker, Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 28th.

NBC

Last month, Kotb revealed her decision to leave to PEOPLE Today in early 2025 and, more specifically, “the best seat on television” — that is, her coveted anchoring role alongside Savannah Guthrie and the morning show co-hosts Today with Hoda and Jenna with Jenna Bush Hager.

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“I was kind of thinking, wondering, thinking about what I would like this next part of my life to look like when I turn 60,” she said. “And I like adventure, I like new beginnings. I’m an outgoing person, not an inbound person, and I was wondering, what does that look like for me?”

(L-R) Cynthia Erivo, Al Roker, Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 28.

NBC

As for the successor, Kotb said, “Whoever is interested in that seat, and it’s maybe the best seat on television, I think the best advice I have is to be 1,000% yourself, because that’s really the key.” (Craig Melvin has since been named her successor.)

“And the other thing, too, sometimes part of the magic for me is being able to enjoy the person sitting next to you,” she continued. “It’s such a small thing, but sometimes when you’re with someone, if you just let them shine.”

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Added Kotb, “Give everyone a moment, because who wants to be the person at the cocktail party who talks the whole time?”

Hoda Kotb on ‘Today’ in February 2024.

Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty

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The TV host’s decision to leave Today a year of personal turmoil followed. Last February, Kotb’s 5-year-old daughter Hope experienced a sudden medical crisis — the nature of which she has not disclosed due to privacy concerns — leaving the host and her family searching for answers and long-term care solutions.

This year, Hope’s situation stabilized, and Kotb moved both her and her older sister, Haley Joy, to Westchester, where they can now spend time “barefoot” in their backyard, she told PEOPLE.

“We are in a place where Hope flourishes. She is improving, we are monitoring her and I think as time goes on we will be better able to deal with it, but we are already seeing big differences,” she said. “We have really excellent care, I have people who help us. I feel that he is finding a stable foothold.”

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Source: HIS Education