'I Don't Know What Happened': The Today Show Interview That Earned Savannah Guthrie Backlash
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An interview on the "Today" show with host Savannah Guthrie was criticized by viewers after appearing to slight a guest with her line of questioning. In 2024, Kelly Rowland went on "Today" to promote her upcoming Netflix legal thriller, "Mea Culpa," during which the anchor insisted on talking about Beyoncé towards the latter part of the interview. "What do you think about your friend Beyoncé?" Guthrie asked Rowland at one point. "She's stepping into country." Seemingly not interested in this question, Rowland offered a simple response: "I know. I'm so proud of her." But instead of leaving it at that, Guthrie pressed on, asking Rowland whether she was surprised to hear that Beyoncé was pivoting to country. Once again, Rowland kept her response brief. "I'm proud of her, so happy for her," she answered with a frozen, polite smile.
Although she managed to keep her composure and finish the interview, Rowland was reportedly insulted by Guthrie's questions about her bandmate, prompting her to storm off the set and skip a follow-up segment she was scheduled to do with Hoda Kotb. "I talked to my sources, and they said that, actually, Kelly was very upset with Savannah's line of questioning," said Inside Edition's senior business writer Emily Smith. She added that Rowland often requests hosts to avoid bringing up Beyoncé in interviews for this very reason. "She felt put on the spot," Smith stressed. "And my sources said that is why she left."
On social media, many blasted Guthrie for disrespecting Rowland by steering the conversation toward Beyoncé during the interview. Someone on YouTube said, "She almost made it through the interview without the Beyoncé question..." Others praised the singer for handling the situation gracefully. "I'm happy she kept the Beyonce answer short and sweet," as one user noted.
Savannah Guthrie said she didn't have a clue
Speaking to Page Six about her interview with Kelly Rowland, Savannah Guthrie claimed she didn't have a clue as to where things went wrong. "She was lovely," Guthrie said of the singer, stressing, "I had no idea, no inkling that anything was amiss." She also described Rowland as "professional" while explaining that everything seemed to be going smoothly from her point of view. Earlier, Page Six published an article alleging that Rowland's reason for leaving had more to do with her dressing room situation than Guthrie's line of questioning. A source told the outlet that Rowland and her team decided to walk away as they were not pleased with the dressing room they were given. "They're not nice. ... There are major space limitations," one staffer described the backstage conditions. "It's not fresh flowers, and candles, and gourmet food. It's basically [a] white box."
According to sources, Rowland's team even tried to inquire about an upstairs dressing room, but was disappointed to find that Jennifer Lopez — who was also scheduled for an interview that morning — had already been assigned it. Fortunately, Rita Ora was on hand to fill in for Rowland and "happily" accepted a room similar to the one the former Destiny's Child member had been offered. After hearing about what happened, Guthrie addressed the incident and acknowledged that the backstage conditions on "Today" could definitely use some improvement.
"What can I say? Yes, our dressing rooms need a little TLC," she admitted during the launch of her book, "Mostly What God Does," days after the interview (via People). However, "I have to say, we have a historic studio that has been around for 70-plus years. It's a small space and it's not that easy to renovate." Nevertheless, she feels for Rowland and hopes for another chance to have her appear on the show in the future. She concluded: "So, you know, I totally get it."