Latest news with #JoyFest
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Hoda Kotb keeps it real when pressed about future amid Kelly Clarkson rumors
Hoda Kotb is ready to put an end to the rumors. The 60-year-old 'Today' show legend returned to her roots on May 28 to talk with former co-hosts Craig Melvin and Savannah Guthrie about what she's been up to since leaving the show earlier this year. At one point during her visit, Melvin asked her to address rumors of what's next. 'People are seeing these articles, texting these things: Hoda's getting back in the business, Hoda's taking over for Kelly Clarkson, Hoda's doing daytime talk,' Melvin says to Kotb. 'What say you?' Kotb's reply shows just how much the 'Today' show means to her. 'I want to ask y'all a real question,' she replied. 'If I ever came back to TV, do you know where the only place I would ever come back to is? Right here. This is the spot. There's no place like home.' When asked if the rumors were 'done,' Kotb said, 'Delete, delete — not true.' Her comment comes amid speculation that Clarkson, who has hosted NBC's 'The Kelly Clarkson Show' since 2019, may be considering moving on from the show when her contract ends in 2026. The show recently celebrated its 1,000th episode on March 20. In light of the speculation, many people have been calling for NBC to announce Kotb as Clarkson's future replacement — including a producer for the show, who spoke with The Daily Mail a few days ago. 'Everyone loves Kelly,' the producer said, per the outlet. 'She's a wonderful person. But maybe Hoda would be a better boss. I know she's universally beloved and respected by her former coworkers.' The producer added that having Kotb onboard 'would be a lot more stable' than what they have now. 'If Kelly is unhappy, then she should move on. We would all understand,' the staffer added, per the Daily Mail. 'If Hoda wants to do it, it could be win-win for everyone.' Clarkson's future with NBC came under scrutiny in March when she was absent for a stretch of shows that saw Simu Liu, Wanda Sykes, Brooke Shields, Roy Wood Jr. and Willie Geist join as guest hosts. Clarkson has since returned to her role and is set to welcome Kotb as a guest on her show next week, per Page Six. Kotb, of course, stunned fans of the 'Today' show in September when she announced her decision to step away from her role at NBC in an effort to spend more time with her daughters, Haley Joy and Hope. The iconic host joined NBC in 1998 and quickly became a fan-favorite and beloved member of the team. Her final show aired on January 10 — and her visit on May 28 marked her first return since. She's now celebrating the launch of her new wellness venture, Joy 101, which she describes as a community designed to help people live more joyful, grounded, purposeful lives. The Joy 101 platform was officially launched on May 28. 'It's a retreat in your pocket,' she told Today of the new brand, which will include an app, website, live events, courses and a single-day tentpole event called Joy Fest planned for Spring 2026. She's also embracing a new mindset as she embarks on life at 60. 'My 60s have turned me into a beginner again, and I like that — a lot,' she added. 'It's like I'm doing things for the first time, and I love that. I want this decade to be about that — like, being a beginner, and not being embarrassed about being a beginner,' she continued. Kotb will be releasing her newest book, 'Jump and Find Joy: Embracing Change in Every Season of Life,' in September.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Hoda Kotb Is on to Her Next Venture: Joy 101, a Personalized, Daily Wellness App
Hoda Kotb is back with her latest venture. On Wednesday, the former 'Today' host is unveiling the launch of her wellness app Joy 101. It is a personalized daily wellness platform that provides insights from experts, researchers — and Kotb, of course. The platform, which will be available to download in two weeks, will cost $17 a month or $99 for the full year. More from WWD West Hollywood Hot Pilates Studio Silver Springs and Aubrey Swims Release Bikini Collaboration How AI Is Actually Reshaping the Future of Beauty Formulation Wellness Podcasts Are Soaring on Spotify. Here, the Top 10 Shows by Popularity Specifically, it will include a daily wisdom from Kotb, expert-led courses on topics like brain health and breathwork, 500-plus sessions on a variety of wellness subjects, guided meditations and twice-monthly livestreams with Kotb and friends. The first livestream will be held on June 11 with Jenna Bush Hager and Savannah Guthrie. The platform will also offer sleep support, movement sessions, community conversation, access to Joy 101's in-person retreats led by Kotb, which will kick off in the fall, and an annual in-person celebration called JoyFest and a personalized plan for each user compiling all of the above. Joy 101 also features a group of advisers including Good American chief executive officer Emma Grede, journalist and advocate Maria Shriver and neuroscientist and dean of NYU's college of arts and science Dr. Wendy Suzuki. Kotb's inspiration for the app started while she was at 'Today' when Bush Hager, her cohost, pushed her to try a breathwork session with one of her go-to practitioners. Kotb reluctantly tried a session on Zoom. 'After seven minutes, I exploded in tears. I was sobbing,' she recalled. While the emotional release was surprising and helpful, it was the after effects that impacted Kotb the most. 'It gave me this weird clarity. I remember I walked back to my apartment and I was like, 'Oh my god.' I was very calm. [My daughter] Haley even said to me, 'Mom, what's going on?' I go, 'Nothing. I feel great,'' she said. 'I was calm. I noticed that I had clarity. I had a great night's sleep, and the next morning at work, I was firing through my notes…. This felt like a big deal.' It was and is a big deal, as Kotb still practices this breathwork for five to seven minutes each day. From there, she was hooked and ready to find additional rituals that could amplify the results of these breathwork sessions. She and Bush Hager were on this journey together, trying other practices like meditation, poring over their results while on 'Today.' Seeing her passion for these practices, Kotb's friend Shriver recommended she try a retreat at the Hoffman Institute. 'She said, 'I've lived with nuns. I've walked with the Dalai Lama. I ate with Thich Nhat Hanh.' She goes, 'I'd trade my Georgetown degree for this place,'' Kotb recalled. 'I of course signed up… It was more life changing than anything else I'd ever done.' With these experiences and a passion for discovering new practices and experts, Kotb realized she was going to a variety of places and people to get the best of the best when it could all exist under one platform. Enter Joy 101. '[It's] like the retreat in your pocket,' she said. '[This] all came to be because of trying something once. It reminds me, my 60s is really about being a beginner again. That's what I'm doing. I'm beginning again, and it's fun. It's like, 'Oh my god! What a cool decade ahead.'' While Kotb started ideating what Joy 101 would be a few years ago, it wasn't always this type of platform. She originally played around with doing a summer camp for kids but quickly realized women actually needed the same type of attention and access to community. As Bush Hager and Shriver's suggestions inspired Kotb, so did many of her guests and women she has looked up to over the years. Kotb recalled one interview with actress Viola Davis that especially inspired her. 'I interviewed her and said, 'How would you describe your childhood?,' and she said, 'I was hungry…' She described how difficult and treacherous it was, and she also described looking at the TV and seeing Cicely Tyson and going, 'I'm going to do that,'' said Kotb. 'That's a very extreme example, but I think what people need is to see somebody doing something like Viola.' In her personal life, Kotb said she felt the same way when she saw Sandra Bullock adopt a child. She hopes to bring these same moments of inspiration to Joy 101 users. 'What this is doing is showing, in another way, women. Look at how different your life can feel,' said Kotb. 'You can make a change and a choice, and you can see how people who have tried it are feeling. Maybe it's something to look at, maybe something to give a try.' For Kotb, all of these wellness practices that she's picked up over the last several years have become daily non-negotiables. Every day she practices breathwork, meditation and her specific style of journaling. 'I write down body, intellect, emotions and spirit, and I write down what does each thing need today,' said Kotb. For example, she said her body may need a rest or a bit of exercise, and her intellect may need to read two chapters of the book that's long been sitting on her nightstand. 'There's my mini road map for the day,' she said. 'It's not a lot, and it's one thing here and one thing there, small things, but it gives you something that nourishes all the parts of you.' In addition to these habits, after years of middle-of-the-night wake-up calls for 'Today,' Kotb is an expert when it comes to sleep practices, which will be featured on the app. Her top suggestions include putting your cell phone in a different room before bed, and making sure the last thing in your brain is nourishing like a daily devotional — Kotb reads a daily page from 'The Book of Awakening' each night. She also keeps a notepad by her bed just in case she needs to do a brain dump before heading to sleep — for eight hours of course. As she launches Joy 101, Kotb said she will define the platform's success by its engaged users. 'Do you want 50,000 people who do a drive-by of your app every now and then, or go to a retreat or look at it online once in a while, or would I rather have 15,000 people who are like, 'I can't wait. When's the next retreat? Oh, you have a new course,'' she said. 'I want that kind of a community, as opposed to, 'Look how many people have come' because I think the people who come are going to want and need this.'
