Hoda Kotb named Justin Sylvester as one of the people she hopes will cohost the Today show’s Jenna & Friends alongside Jenna Bush Hager — and Rachel Lindsay cosigns that message.
“I’ll say the things that Justin can’t say. Not only did [Kotb] cosign him, she said, ‘I’m sorry, who? I’m sorry, what? It is Justin Sylvester.’ Justin Sylvester should be the cohost of Jenna & Friends,” Lindsay, 40, told Us Weekly exclusively at the “LadyGang” podcast’s three-day LadyWorld Festival in Miramar Beach, Florida. “This is no shade or disrespect to any other person that has shared the platform with Jenna. They are great, they are beautiful, they are dynamic, they are intelligent. But Justin brings an energy that you cannot recreate.”
Lindsay continued to praise her “funny” and “relatable” best friend.
“I say this as somebody who experiences in real life, it is just for him. He should have it,” the former Bachelorette star said. “And who better to get the cosign from than Hoda Kotb herself.”
Justin Sylvester and Rachel Lindsay at LADYWORLD ’25 Presented by e.l.f Cosmetics. Chelsea Lauren / Shutterstock
Kotb, 61, departed the Today show earlier this year and the search for Bush Hager’s new cohost for the show’s fourth hour has been on ever since. Sylvester, 38, has made several appearances on the show — even cohosting Jenna & Friends earlier this week.
During a June appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, Kotb was asked who she thinks should be Bush Hager’s cohost. She said Sylvester was one of the “contenders” for the role.
While Jenna Bush Hager is having fun hosting the fourth hour of Today with her celebrity pals, many fans still wonder who will permanently take over Hoda Kotb’s former role. Kotb ended her 17-year run on the NBC morning show in January 2025, after which Craig Melvin replaced her as Savannah Guthrie’s news coanchor. Bush […]
“I really enjoy doing Jenna & Friends. The fact that Hoda Kotb handed me her wedding dress and said, ‘It’s your time to wear it,’ is unbelievable,” Sylvester told Us. “I truly believe that having two people who come from two different walks of life talk about things and relate to things as one is what daytime needs right now.”
He added, “I know I keep on saying this, but everybody needs a gay friend. America needs a gay friend. I am that girl.”
Lindsay said it’s “a sigh of relief” when Sylvester is on the Today show stage.
Keltie Knight, Justin Sylvester, Rachel Lindsay, Jac Vanek and Becca Tobin at LADYWORLD ’25 Presented by e.l.f Cosmetics. Chelsea Lauren / Shutterstock
“I just want to make Hoda proud,” he added.
Sylvester first appeared on Jenna & Friends in February, before returning to cohost on two separate occasions in April. He joined Bush Hager in May as well, and the duo famously recounted their experience at Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter Tour. Sylvester is set to return on Thursday, October 2, to round out the week with Bush Hager.
Prior to his Jenna & Friends appearances, Sylvester hosted E! News from 2022 until the show ended last month. He teased his “next chapter” via Instagram in August.
The “LadyGang” podcast’s first-ever LadyWorld festival was a whirlwind weekend for fans of Becca Tobin, Keltie Knight and Jac Vanek. The trio founded the podcast in 2015, and they never imagined having a three-day festival (which Stassi Schroeder dubbed “podcast Coachella” while on stage) that included tons of supportive women who wanted nothing more than […]
Sylvester’s appearance at LadyWorld this past weekend was in support of his former E! News cohost Keltie Knight, who is one-third of the “LadyGang” podcast alongside Glee alum Becca Tobin and Jac Vanek.
He and Lindsay brought their real-life friendship to the stage — in a way that might have surprised some people.
“Do you know that girlfriend who you call the first thing you wake up in the morning, and all you hear is, ‘Girl,’ and you know that it’s gonna be a good conversation? Rachel Lindsay is that person for me,” Sylvester explained. “I talk to her every morning, and I know that the convo is gonna be juicy by the way she picks up the phone.”
Lindsay added, “People know Justin, they know me, but they don’t really know us together. … I think that what people desire right now is the relatability of it all, and we are two besties that have the best time, but also uplift one another.”
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