Hoda Kotb Loses Her Contact Lens Live on Air and Can't Read Her Lines: 'Everything Looks Super Fuzzy'
"I think I have a contact stuck in my eye way up here," she said on 'Today with Hoda and Jenna' Thursday
Hoda Kotb had a minor medical mishap on Thursday's Today with Hoda and Jenna, which left her unable read the teleprompter.
Live with co-host Jenna Bush Hager on the NBC morning show, Kotb explained that she had lost a contact lens in the cavity of her left eye.
"I think I have a contact stuck in my eye way up here," Kotb, 59, said at the end of the program's first segment. "I don't think I took it out last night and I can't find it. It feels like it's in there!"
"I'm not kidding," the mother of two added as she rubbed her left eye. "I was going to go to the eye doctor but I didn't have time."
Hager, 42, offered support but wasn't sure what to do. So Kotb asked the audience for advice.
"Maybe people have tricks on how to get it out, because I'm sure people have had contacts that have rolled up," she asked. "How do I get it out? I've tried? If you guys know, will you post on X? I just want to get it out!"
Hoda thinks she has a contact stuck in her eye 😳 If you have any tips on how to get it out, let @hodakotb know 👇 pic.twitter.com/Um7BBlQtQ0
— TODAY with Hoda & Jenna (@HodaAndJenna) February 1, 2024
The show then went to commercial. But when it returned for its second segment, Hager said the situation had only gotten worse.
"We have breaking news: Hoda has now lost all eyesight because her other contact fell out," she said. "I'm going to go ahead and read and hopefully when the health person comes, we can resolve this issue."
As she did that, Kotb looked in a handheld mirror, trying to find what was going wrong. "There are two in there, I'm not kidding," she lamented.
She then tried a fan-submitted tip where she looked down and pulled on her lid. And luckily, it worked. "That was so crazy, that was the best advice!" she said!
Related: Jenna Bush Hager and Hoda Kotb Also Admit to Eating Snow After Reese Witherspoon Sparks Debate
Still, Kotb wasn't able to see. "I can only see you," she told Hager. "Everything looks super fuzzy."
"It looks like a bunch of mushed up colors," she said. "This is real weird. I'm totally dependent on you 100 percent. Not reading is not easy. I can't read anything!"
Hager was forced to take over, though wasn't happy about it. "I don't like this feeling," she said. "I like to be partners with you. Let's hope that a doctor arrives in the next couple of minutes and Hoda is able to see!"
"I just need one more contact," Kotb said.
🚨 Hoda was able to take out one of the contacts!
Thanks everyone for your advice 😂 pic.twitter.com/fOgatFFVbu— TODAY with Hoda & Jenna (@HodaAndJenna) February 1, 2024
A doctor didn't arrive, but an Oscar winner did — specifically Ariana DeBose, who popped out before her interview with the two holding contacts in hand for a very grateful Kotb.
"I'll take your glasses too!" Kotb joked to DeBose.
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Today with Hoda and Jenna airs weekdays (10 a.m. ET) on NBC.
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