On Dec. 16, Janet Jackson, 56, appeared on the breakfast show and chatted with Savannah Guthrie as well as Sheinelle Jones, Craig Melvin, Hoda Kotb, Dylan Dreyer, and Carson Daly. But, Savannah and her co-hosts were criticized for how they treated the singer-songwriter on the show. For some reason, Janet was made to stand up throughout her interview while the hosts all sat on stools.
READ MORE: Savannah Guthrie Strips Off Her ‘Today’ Show Makeup And Shows Off Her Real Face On Instagram
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Fans Accuse Savannah Guthrie Of Snubbing Janet Jackson On The TODAY Show
Despite the weird seating arrangements, Savannah, 51, later shared some snaps of the TODAY co-hosts with Janet and simply captioned the post: “Miss Jackson!” Unfortunately, her followers were not impressed. Many were confused as to why Janet was standing for the entire interview, while the hosts all sat down.
Commenting on the post, one person noted: “I wish you had offered her a seat. She even looked behind herself to see if one had been brought to her. Very strange to make her stand.” Another simply asked: “Why didn’t you give her a seat?” while another said, “Why was she standing for so long? That was the one thing that threw me…” A fourth person even commented: “No seat. Was like the most awkward interview with her as she’s standing & you were all sitting,” while another fumed: “How dysfunctional they didn’t even offer her a chair oh their heads are in the clouds lately.” Someone else wondered: “How come there was no chair for her? Maybe she didn’t want to sit?” And a different person mentioned: “Could no one find a chair for her? And Sheinelle kind of hijacked the whole segment and made it about her.” Yikes!
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Sheinelle, 44, certainly shared an exceptional moment with Janet during her appearance on the TODAY show. The co-host and mom-of-three is such a superfan that she even dressed up as Janet for TODAY’s 2019 Halloween Celebration (and performed “Rhythm Nation” with backup dancers!). Janet thanked Sheinelle for this tribute through a recorded video message saying: “Hey, Sheinelle, thank you so much for thinking of me and ‘Rhythm Nation’ this year. Man, I cannot believe it’s been 30 years since that album was released, but I’m so glad you’re still enjoying it.” However, during Janet’s latest appearance on the TODAY show, the clip was shown again and Janet ended up inviting Sheinelle on to her upcoming tour!
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“I would love for you to join me (on stage),” Jackson said to Sheinelle. “You should.” Sheinelle brightly smiled as her co-hosts vocalized their shock at the invitation. “Wait, what did she just say?!” co-anchor Hoda said. And, “Sheinelle, receive that for a second,” co-host Dylan Dreyer encouraged. Sheinelle seemed to be in shock!
Janet confirmed how serious she was: “Yes because I’m looking for somebody to come on stage and dance with me on a song or two.” Sheinelle took a moment to tell Jackson just how influential she was to her and other women’s personal development.
Janet responded truthfully: “I was serious about you coming on stage.” She then invited the rest of the TODAY family to join the audience of her tour: Hoda, Dylan, Craig Melvin, Savannah Guthrie, and Carson Daly. “I will be there,” Sheinelle said, referring to Jackson’s latest tour.
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Savannah Guthrie Celebrated Her 51st Birthday With A Heartwarming Message From Hoda
On Dec. 27, the TODAY co-anchor celebrated her 51st birthday! She spent time with her family and got warm wishes from Hoda Kotb. “Today we celebrate you @savannahguthrie !! Well… today and every day! Happy Birthday darlin!” Hoda wrote on Instagram. The photo shows the two women at their TODAY desks, with Savannah smiling wide and throwing her hand up in the air.
Hoda and Savannah have been close co-workers and friends for years. In 2018, they made history as the first pair of women to co-anchor the TODAY show. Since then, their relationship’s grown strong. In May, Hoda and Savannah reflected on their friendship and got emotional. Savannah said, “It’s wonderful to have a female partnership, but to me, to have this friend and cheerleader and partner, and I really feel that from her, and I hope we share that. It’s incredible. I always say, ‘I’ll hold my hands and close my eyes and go anywhere with you.’ I would.” How sweet!
